Broadway has a new Fanny Brice.
Producers behind Broadway’s revival of “Funny Girl” announced the newest additions to join the cast later this year: Lea Michele and Tovah Feldshuh.
The “Glee” actress and star of the Tony winning musical “Spring Awakening” will take over for Beanie Feldstein, who opened the production back in April coinciding with Barbra Streisand’s 80th birthday.
Feldstein announced Sunday she would leave “Funny Girl” early on July 31, instead of the September departure previously announced.
“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 “Booksmart” breakout said.
Last month, it was announced that Feldstein and Jane Lynch, who plays Mrs. Brice, would leave the production on September 25.
“Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,” Feldstein added.
Internet rumors have speculated for weeks about Feldstein’s replacement once it was announced she’d be out in September, with Michele leading most predictions.
Michele’s arrival almost offered a reunion with Lynch, her former “Glee” co-star who played the iconic cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Instead, Feldshuh will star alongside Michele as Mrs. Brice starting Sept. 6.
“A dream come true is an understatement. I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway,” Michele said on Instagram.
The bittersweet comedy tells the tale of a Jewish girl from New York in the 1920s who went from burlesque to Broadway stages despite criticism that she wasn’t conventionally beautiful. “Funny Girl” is a musical that celebrates the oddballs, the kooky and the misfits.
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