Before Sadie Sink didn’t know if the sun would come out tomorrow on Stranger Things, she was singing that it would when she starred in Annie. Boy, could the 11-year-old sing in 2013 when she was on Broadway.
When the revival of Funny Girl announced that Beanie Feldstein was going to play Fanny Brice on Broadway, there were a lot of people who wondered why Lea Michele didn’t get the role.
Ever since Michele sang Don’t Rain on My Parade on Glee, it seemed like it was her role to lose, and she lost it.
Then yesterday, Feldstein announced that she was leaving the show earlier than her September departure because the musical was changing directions. After her announcement, the show said they would reveal her replacement today.
Who is it? It is Lea Michele. “A dream come true is an understatement,” the actress wrote. “I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway. See you September 6th.”
Hopefully, her dream won’t turn into a nightmare. I think if she doesn’t play to sell-out crowds, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show closes during her run. Yikes.
When it comes to who will be playing Brice between August 1st and September 5th, that person is Julie Benko. Benko has been getting a lot of praise in the role. Unlike the person who was hired to play it.
Beanie Feldstein landed the coveted lead role in the Broadway musical revival, Funny Girl, and critics thought she was the wrong actress to play Fanny Brice. So much so, that she didn’t receive a Tony nomination for her part.
Therefore, she and Jane Lynch announced they were leaving the show in September. However, today the actress said she was ending her fun earlier than expected.
“Playing Fanny Brice on Broadway has been a lifelong dream of mine, and doing so for the last few months has been a great joy and true honor,” the actress wrote. “Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated. I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew. The people I have had the great joy of bringing Funny Girl to life with every night, both bring off the septiono talented and exceptional humans and I hope you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st.”
The show said they will make an exciting castin announcement tomorrow. It is expected that Lea Michele will get the role.
Company survived pandemic closures and received 9 Tony nominations, but the lights will dim permanently on the Broadway musical at the end of next month.
They did not say why the show starring Patti LuPone is closing, but I have my theory. Yesterday, Broadway announced that masks will be optional come July 1st. And as we know, LuPone is a strong advocate for keeping them on. So I wonder if LuPone said she was done when the masks were done? And without her tickets sales would plummet.
When it comes to the mask mandate, I agree with her on this as the audience is packed in like sardines in a closed, confined room for 3 hours. You know, COVID-19 is going to start spreading faster than the news.
The Tonys slapped the Oscars with this new rule starting with this year’s awards show.
According to Deadline, a letter went out from the Tony Award Productions to potential ticket-buyers that says, “The Tony Awards has a strict no violence policy. In the event of an incident, the perpetrator will be removed from the event immediately.”
Oh, please. This is the Tonys. There will be no bitch slapping. And if there is, it will be so dramatic that the slapper will exit stage left and never look back. And if that doesn’t happen, then there will be a rumble between the musicals and the plays that will make West Side Story jealous.
Now, I am thinking they should do a Hamilton and not miss their shot. We need a duel. Just not one that ends as it did between Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Too soon?
