Lea Michele Responds to 'Funny Girl' Casting Drama, Shares Thoughts on Beanie Feldstein's Performance

Take a bow!

Lea Michele broke down in tears after being cast as Fanny Brice in 'Funny Girl'. The former ‘Glee’ star was getting brunch with her two-year-old son Ever when she learned that she'd been cast in the Broadway production. The 36-year-old actress told PEOPLE: “Funny story, I got the call from my agents that I got the part.

has finally made on Broadway. In addition to glowing tweets about her performance, she received six (six!) standing ovations.

Lea Michele is enjoying her Broadway success! The ‘Glee’ star received multiple standing ovations Tuesday night, as the audience was absolutely thrilled to see the actress at her first performance of ‘Funny Girl.’Performing at August Wilson Theater in New York City, Lea’s celebrity friends were also in the audience, including Jonathan Groff, Zachary Quinto, Lee Pace, Ryan Murphy, Harvery Fierstein, Drew Barrymore, among others.The first standing ovation happened before she even said a word, with a total of four standing ovations, even before the end of Act 1, including after her performance of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ and during Act 2 of the show.Attendees were excited to comment on Lea’s display of talent on stage, with Fierstein declaring that he “haven’t had a night like this in the theater in years.” Another person said, “She’s the greatest star alright,” while someone else commented, “I’m going to need to come back this Friday and see it again.”Lea was spotted waving at her friend Jonathan Groff in the audience at the end of the show, getting emotional after noticing the joy of the audience. She had previously said she was excited to perform for her friends and family during the first show.“I have all of my people.

It happened! Lea Michele is officially Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, and plenty of Glee fans think it’s fulfilling her destiny laid out in the show.

Lea Michele made her Broadway debut as Funny Girl‘s Fanny Brice Tuesday (September 6), and photos are emerging from the show!

made her Broadway “Funny Girl” debut on Tuesday, had audiences roaring with laughter over one particular line.Early in the show, Michele’s character Fanny Brice delivered the line, “I hadn’t read many books.” Fans burst out into hysterics due to the persistent rumor that the former “Glee” star cannot read or write, which Michele recently shot down.The 36-year-old actress was first subjected to illiteracy rumors in 2017 when her late costar Naya Rivera’s memoir revealed that Michele refused to improvise her lines on set.Michele responded to the allegations recently, saying that the comment is sexist and that if she were a man, no one would question it. “There’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad.

As you might have heard, Lea Michele made her debut last night, taking the stage at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre to six standing ovations, a bouquet of white roses and through plenty of curtain call tears.

Lea Michele had a monumental day on Tuesday! Before hitting the stage for her opening night performance as Fanny Brice in  on Broadway, she celebrated a tearful motherhood milestone. «Today is a special and important day that within the blink of an eye was here...» she wrote on her Instagram Story, following up with a photo of her two-year-old son, Ever, wearing a monogrammed backpack as he embarked on his first day of Little School.«I cried as I tied your little shoes this morning,» she wrote. «I feel like just yesterday you were born.

A mommy milestone. Lea Michele got emotional as she prepared son Ever for school before making her big debut in Broadway’s Funny Girl.

Lea Michele’s parade as the former “Glee” star made her long-anticipated debut in Broadway’s “Funny Girl” revival. Before Michele could sing a note in her crystalline soprano, the crowd at the August Wilson Theatre on Tuesday leapt to its feet as soon as she appeared on stage, making it difficult to hear the show’s famous opening line, “Hello, gorgeous.” She would receive six standing ovations in all, crescendoing in a final, rafters-shaking round of applause. It’s been a long time coming for Michele, who has spent a good portion of her career (unofficially) campaigning to embody the incandescent comic and chanteuse Fanny Brice on stage. Her obsession with “Funny Girl” became lore on “Glee,” where her character Rachel Berry regularly belted the musical’s greatest hits — including “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star” and “People” — during the show’s six seasons. A public audition tape, of sorts.

an onslaught of dishy stories about the early departure of her predecessor, Beanie Feldstein. Indeed, no Broadway switcheroo has been this dramatic since Andrew Lloyd Webber unceremoniously booted Patti LuPone out of “Sunset Boulevard” and hired Glenn Close instead.In an attempt to give the change-up some breathing room, the production is formally inviting critics to review the show again in three weeks. So, The Post bought its own ticket Tuesday for the best seat in the house — Rear Mezzanine Row Q.Anyway, the delay is needless.

Lea Michele's first night as Fanny Brice was nothing short of a success. According to multiple reports, Michele wowed audiences while making her debut in Broadway's .Michele stepped into the role Tuesday night for the first time, replacing Beanie Feldstein, who left the broadway show sooner than expected in July. Both  and  reported that the  alum received four standing ovations at the August Wilson Theatre from a star-studded audience that included Michele's castmate Jonathan Groff, creator Ryan Murphy and Harvey Fierstein, who added new material to the musical revival. Drew Barrymore and Zachary Quinto were also said to have been in the audience for the show's opening night.Michele reportedly received her first standing ovation upon her entrance, and there were at least three more before the end of the first act.More ovations were said to have followed throughout the evening, including one at the final curtain, which saw a sobbing Michele and co-star Tovah Feldshuh — who also made her  debut Tuesday -- accepting large bouquets of white roses.So far Lea Michele has gotten four standing ovations at this Funny Girl performanceIt’s intermission at #FunnyGirl, and so far Lea Michele has gotten 4 standing ovations also shared footage from the show, including a clip of Michele taking her first bow as Brice.Lea Michele takes her first bow as Fanny Brice at #FunnyGirl on Broadway.

Lea Michele is the toast of Broadway!

Lea Michele‘s currently on stage in her first night as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and she just delivered a line that got a lot of reactions.

Lea Michele is having a huge opening night so far!

Four standing ovations before intermission. Sounds like Lea Michele’s first night as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl is going, well, gleefully.

Broadway gave Billy Crystal a fine send-off last week, with the star’s Mr. Saturday Night musical grossing more than $1 million during its final week of performances. That number – $1,014,614, to be precise – is a big jump over the show’s weekly box office takes in recent months. About 98% of seats at the Nederlander Theatre were filled for Crystal’s goodbye week.

making her debut in the musical “Funny Girl” Tuesday, and she’s already wearing her Fanny Brice best.“This is such a dream come true for me,” Michele told Entertainment Weekly on Monday, revealing first-look photos of herself in costume.“And I cannot wait to take the stage on Tuesday as Fanny Brice on Broadway.”Michele, 36, first announced in July 2022 that she was taking over the role after Beanie Feldstein shocked fans by announcing her departure from the show — after receiving lukewarm reviews from critics and missing several performances. The production is a revival of the 1964 show which starred Barbra Streisand and tells the real-life story of Brice, who rose to stardom as a member of Florenz Ziegfeld’s “Follies.”The “Glee” alum has long coveted the role of Fanny ever since her days on the hit musical TV show.

EXCLUSIVE: Lea Michele will be making her public debut as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl tonight, but don’t expect reviews tomorrow. A production spokesperson tells Deadline exclusively that while critics will be invited to review – or, rather, re-review – the musical with its new star, the invites won’t be arriving for a few weeks.

They've come a long way since McKinley High. Jane Lynch was backstage at 2022 Creative Arts Emmy Awards where she raved about her former  co-star Lea Michele. Michele is set to take the stage in Broadway's revival of , playing the lead as Fanny Brice tomorrow, September 6 at the August Wilson Theater. She is currently slated to stay with the show through 2023. In July, news broke that Michele would be taking over the role of Fanny from Beanie Feldstein.

also serenaded Streisand at a tribute with a “Funny Girl” song. Michele, now 36, finds herself stepping into the role Streisand made famous by taking over the role of Fanny from Beanie Feldstein in the show's first revival on Broadway, with Mayer again her director. It's a dream come true, but it has also created waves.

Glee star Lea Michele has found herself in that exact position after a rumour began circling that she is unable to read. The rumour began to gain traction after the late Naya Rivera, another former Glee cast member, wrote in her memoir that Michele would refuse to improvise during scenes on the show. That point was picked up and spoken about on the One More Thing podcast where the hosts Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman joked that Michele must not be able to read since she didn’t rebut Rivera’s comments about her in the press.

Lea Michele has shut down speculation that she is illiterate. The bizarre conspiracy theory originated in 2018 when Jaye Hunt and Robert Ackerman made a 40-minute video for their podcast One More Thing claiming Michele couldn't read and the theory was resurrected on TikTok earlier this year. During an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, the 36-year-old responded to the speculation.

Lea Michele will be joining the cast of Broadway’s Funny Girl revival in less than a week and a profile in The New York Times was just released in anticipation of her debut.

Lea Michele think it's "sad and unfortunate" that women are pitted against each other. The 36-year-old actress stars as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of 'Funny Girl', and she's downplayed talk of any tension between herself and Beanie Feldstein, who headlined the musical when it opened earlier this year. Lea - who is best known for playing Rachel Berry in the hit TV series 'Glee' - told PEOPLE: "I saw the show.

on the set of as she heads into her coveted role as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. In a new New York Times interview, chaulks up complaints about her behavior on Glee as a simple matter of “perfectionism” gone awry. “I have an edge to me,” she said, per , regarding co-star claims that Michele created a hostile work environment.

takes over the role of Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” Sept. 6 — infamously replacing former leading lady Beanie Feldstein, who left the production amid a swirl of rumors earlier this summer.Michele addressed the online hate over her casting — as well as past claims she bullied her castmates in a profile published on Thursday.“I feel more ready than I ever have before, both personally and professionally,” the “Spring Awakening” star told the New York Times about coming back to her theater roots.She’s keen for a fresh start two years after her former “Glee” co-stars Samantha Marie Ware and Heather Morris alleged she bullied them both, with Ware accusing her of racist, “traumatic microaggressions.”When the bombshell claims were first dropped in 2020, Michele apologized for her actions, saying in a statement at the time that she “clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”Now, the “Scream Queens” actress is admitting she had an “intense time of reflection” about her notorious behavior, noting she felt like she was in “semi-robotic state” in an effort to stay perfect.“I have an edge to me.

Lea Michele, who begins performances as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl revival next week, says she believes much of the recent online vitriol and trolling against her is sexist, and specifically dismisses the bizarre rumor that she can’t read or write as “sad.”

The pressure is on for Lea Michele — and she knows it.

Lea Michele is less than a week away from making her debut as Fanny Brice, but before embarking on that role, the actress' past has once again come under scrutiny.In a new interview with, the 36-year-old addressed past allegations that she was at the forefront of creating a toxic work environment, particularly during her time on the Fox hit show. While she didn't address any of the specific allegations, Michele did try to offer an insight into her work process that may have rubbed co-stars the wrong way.«I have an edge to me,» she tells .

Lea Michele, who became a household name with her role in "Glee," opened up about her rocky past as she prepares to make her debut in Broadway's "Funny Girl."  Before landing the role in "Funny Girl," Michele, 36, publicly dealt with accusations from "Glee" cast members and issued an apology.The actress discussed what she learned from that period in her life during a recent interview with The New York Times. The accusations apparently led Michele to have an "intense time of reflection." "I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader," the actress told The New York Times.

Lea Michele has addressed those rumours about her past professional behaviour.

Zack Sharf Lea Michele sat down with The New York Times ahead of her opening night on Broadway playing Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” and confronted accusations of bullying made over the years by her former “Glee” cast members. Samantha Marie Ware came forward in 2020 to accuse Michele of making “traumatic microaggressions” against her on the set of the Fox musical comedy. Ware said Michele threatened to get her fired, among other forms of bullying. “Glee” star Heather Morris supported Ware, writing on Twitter that Michele “should be called out” given “the disrespect” with which she treated others “for as long as she did.” Michele told The Times that the allegations of bullying against her prompted an “intense time of reflection” about her conduct at work. The actor traced a line from her set behavior to her early days as a child star on Broadway, where perfectionism was drilled into her.

Lea Michele is addressing the allegations against her.

Another Glee alum is sharing her experience of sharing the screen with the big, bad Rachel Berry.