Why Lea Michele Is Not Eligible for a Tony Award for Her 'Funny Girl' Role
etonline.comLea Michele has enjoyed monumental success since formally joining the cast of the Broadway hit Funny Girlin September 2022.But while she's earned praise for deftly portraying the coveted role of the beloved character Fanny Brice, there's a simple reason why she's not eligible for a Tony Award.According to the Tony Awards' rules and regulations under eligibility requirements, «in order to be eligible, an actor or actress must perform in the role on the production's opening night and must perform in the minimum number of performances to which the producer of such production must invite and make tickets available to Tony voters as required by Rule 2(a)vi).»And therein lies the issue — the original actress who performed on opening night was Beanie Feldstein, who left in the wake of the show being at risk of closing due to poor reviews and lackluster ticket sales.
That all changed after Michele formally replaced Feldstein in September.The former star's debut came on Sept. 6, 2022, and she wowed the audience, who would go on to give her a rousing ovation.
Both and reported that Michele, 36, received four standing ovations at the August Wilson Theatre. She received her first standing ovation upon her entrance, and there were at least three more before the end of the first act.Her highly anticipated debut in the role drew 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.As for how she feels about not being eligible for a Tony Award despite all the success onstage, Michele told back in September that she's not sweating it.«You might.
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