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?
Last week, the curtain finally went up on Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s take of Plaza Suite on Broadway. However, this week, the lights are off for a few performances. That is because the couple and co-stars have both tested positive for COVID-19.
“With both Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker positive for COVID, tonight’s performance of ‘Plaza Suite’ is canceled,” the show’s producers said in a statement to Variety. “The producers apologize for the inconvenience this has caused audience members. Ticket holders should contact their point of sale to reschedule for a future performance or obtain a refund. Everyone wishes Matthew and Sarah Jessica a speedy recovery.”
Broderick got his results right before showtime on Tuesday, and his wife got the same diagnosis today.
Producers did not say when the show will go on again. But, I have a feeling they will wait until they both can resume the production together.
Matthew Broderick is starring in Plaza Suite on Broadway with Sarah Jessica Parker. In order to get the word out about the play, which opened last week, the actor is doing press for it. Yesterday, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan plus Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Then, when he was done with that part of his day, it was time for him to go to work. Before he could go on the stage, he had to do a COVID test. That is when the actor found out that he had tested positive for the virus after two tests, according to Broadway World.
This makes me wonder if the talk shows are doing enough to protect their hosts. For example, Meyers gave Broderick a quick hug when he came out, which could put the NBC host at risk. Something that would be bad because he has children that are too young to get vaccinated. However, I don’t know when Broderick taped that appearance, so Meyers could be in the clear.
When it comes to Live, I think you can kind of see that his eyes are watery. But I could be reading too much into it because I watched the interview after I knew he tested positive.
