Lea Michele

After a decades-long, controversy-filled history of desperately wanting to play Fanny Brice, Lea Michele was finally in the role on Broadway. At the first ...

Then the audience spilled out into the street in a burst of energy and takes. (A friend heard someone mutter, “Don’t do that!” near them.) By the time Fanny admitted she doesn’t know what patronizing means in Act Two, it felt like dissension might break out between those who were simply there to support and those who were also hoping to snicker. So when Fanny tells Nick Arnstein that he acts like a character in a book, and “I haven’t read many books, so …” there were the obligatory face-value laughs at the lame joke and the rumbles of deeper recognition at the meta-joke — plus the stern hushings of people who also know the joke but do not find it funny. By the time it leaked that Michele was going in for Fanny, Feldstein announced plans to leave early on her own accord, implying she was unhappy the show was going in a “different direction.” Michele has been basically auditioning to play Fanny Brice since she first appeared on Glee, where she kept delivering performances [in that Barbra vein](https://www.vulture.com/article/glee-funny-girl-songs-ranked.html), but there are plenty of good reasons to be suspicious of her casting. The show ended just before 10 p.m., running under the wire of three hours (and no, for the record, they haven’t added in “My Man”). Nobody told me the rules.) Shout out to the smattering of audience members who tried to get people up for Ramin Karimloo’s “Temporary Arrangement” and for Jared Grimes and newcomer Tovah Feldshuh’s “Who Taught Her Everything She Knows?” And, if you want a case study in Michele doing comedy, there she was tap dancing and fiddling with a prop mustache that simply would not stick during “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat.” By my count from an orchestra seat, there were four standing ovations in the first act: for her entrance, “The Greatest Star,” “People,” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” (The first began with Groff and, in the mezzanine, with someone Twitter has already [dubbed “a twink in opera gloves.”](https://twitter.com/himerdos/status/1567309512863776768?s=21&t=ypkSSJLih76YITRlCawuhw)) In the second act, there were two more, her entrance and the closing reprise, which were sustained through the curtain call. Instead, the audience seemed full to the brim with characters from the great blob of the theater world: agents, producers, co-producers, seemingly entire staffs of Broadway ad agencies, reporters, and the theater owner Jordan Roth. Feldstein [could not sing the part](https://www.vulture.com/2022/04/theater-review-funny-girl-beanie-feldstein.html) (and the reviews weren’t kind to the rest of the production, either). Seconds before the lights went down at Lea Michele’s first performance of Funny Girl, Jonathan Groff sped down the aisle to his seat at the center of the orchestra, right next to Ryan Murphy, who gave the actress a starring role in Glee. [entrance into the show](https://www.vulture.com/article/lea-michele-beanie-feldstein-funny-girl-casting-timeline.html) are clear: Funny Girl, the first Broadway revival of the show since Streisand opened it in 1968, premiered this spring, inauspiciously on Barbra’s 80th birthday, starring Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice. After a decades-long, controversy-filled history of desperately wanting to play Fanny Brice, Lea Michele was finally in the role on Broadway.

As you might have heard, Lea Michele made her Funny Girl debut last night, taking the stage at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre to six standing ovations, ...

Brice, the role Jane Lynch originated in this revival – were Drew Barrymore, Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher Jr., Ryan Murphy, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, Zachary Quinto, Lee Pace and fashion designer Thom Browne. Check out the first-performance and curtain call photos and a video below, which also feature co-stars Ramin Karimloo, Jared Grimes and the Funny Girl company. [Lea Michele](https://deadline.com/tag/lea-michele/) made her [Funny Girl](https://deadline.com/tag/funny-girl/) debut last night, taking the stage at [Broadway](https://deadline.com/tag/broadway/)’s August Wilson Theatre to six standing ovations, a bouquet of white roses and through plenty of curtain call tears.

The Broadway audience watching Michele reportedly gasped and laughed during a reference to books, following rumors of her reading ability.

In previous years, multiple actors from the show have discussed [Michele's behavior](https://www.newsweek.com/samantha-marie-ware-lea-michele-tweet-glee-cast-members-support-1508115). The reports of Michele's debut performance in the role have been more positive as she received four standing ovations before the intermission, according to Deadline. The Booksmart actress had received The audio recording was shared by @plantsackey on Twitter. RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Eve 6000 shut the user down though and joked: "It's okay she will never know what it says." They said that the audience "guffawed" after she gave her book-related line.

Because the Gleeks took Broadway last night, here are your early links: the South Bronx is too hot, city agency head counts are low, late-night Central Park ...

You can also get the top stories in our daily newsletter — [sign up here.](https://gothamist.com/newsletter) (They exist in New Jersey, FYI.) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/gothamist), and [like us on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gothamist/13927915491). [unfilled](https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/9/6/23340069/health-housing-buildings-public-sector-unemployment-rate-high). [bike race in Central Park](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/nyregion/central-park-raccoons-bike-racing.html)seems cool. [water vacuum trains](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/nyregion/the-little-pump-trains-that-could-but-didnt.html).

The reviews for Lea Michele's debut in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl Tuesday night are out: Variety called her performance “triumphant,” and Twitter ...

[ [Variety](https://variety.com/2022/legit/news/funny-girl-lea-michele-opening-night-broadway-1235361336/)] Chris Pines’ rep said the rumor that Harry Styles spit on him during the premiere of Don’t Worry Darling is “ridiculous” and “a complete fabrication.” But all I can think about is the fact that Miss Flo’s rep hasn’t done the same when it comes to her reported feud with director Olivia Wilde... [55% offBabbel](https://stck.media/r/babbel-g-o-media-august-editorial) [heavy sobbing](https://twitter.com/rebeccaarubin/status/1567331708424392706) during her curtain call. In particular, I am absolutely tickled by this description of Groff’s manic behavior, according to Variety: Groff “looked positively ecstatic every time the actress was on stage, rocking back and forth rhythmically, sobbing at various points, and jumping up to lead each ovation.” By the end of the show, Michele received six standing ovations ending in one last “rafters-shaking” round of applause during her bows.

Lea Michele received six standing ovations during her first performance as Fanny Brice on Broadway. Here, see all the best photos from the curtain call of ...

Ahead of her debut, she has been self-referential to her time on Glee as Rachel Berry, [even recreating a moment from the show](https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40834691/lea-michele-funny-girl-glee-behind-the-scenes-instagram-photo/). Here, see all the best photos from Lea Michele's debut as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl: Broadway legend Tovah Feldshuh joined the cast, too, last night, and was also gifted with flowers on stage. [shared](https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/lea-michele-funny-girl-debut-interview). Michele was one of only two new cast members. Her debut as Fanny has been a long time coming; Michele has not been shy about her desire to perform the role that Barbara Streisand made famous.

A total of six standing ovations took place on opening night at the August Wilson Theatre for the "Glee" star.

Producer Ryan Murphy, who worked with Michele in Glee and Scream Queens was also in the crowd, as well as Tony winner Also in the audience on Tuesday night was Michele and Groff's Spring Awakening co-stars, John Gallagher Jr. [wrote](https://twitter.com/briana_ns/status/1567309301231878145?s=20&t=p-3aUfwC-fqhpil8PXskNw), "INTERMISSION AT FUNNY GIRL. SHE IS F**KING KILLING IT. Lea Michele TORE." [wrote](https://twitter.com/itsNumberJuan/status/1567330695743250432?s=20&t=drcNav0bG-k-FNiZlPYAVg), "oh, honey..

In fact, after she delivered her debut performance as Fanny Brice in Broadway's “Funny Girl,” the audience at August Wilson Theatre stood up and cheered — again ...

[her Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/stories/leamichele/2921625765750697492/) to honor the all the “the Fannys who have fearlessly graced this stage” before her, from Feldstein to Streisand, and she added, “You all have climbed the mountain that is Fanny and I am honored to be in your company.” She added, "I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway.” [“Watch What Happens Live,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nV1zFOXeoA) Michele announced that she felt “really ready” to portray Brice on Broadway.

Early in Lea Michele's "Funny Girl" debut on Broadway, her character Fanny Brice delivered a line that caused her debut audience to burst out laughing.

I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case,” the “Spring Awakening” alum “There’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? [Michele recently shot down](https://nypost.com/2022/09/06/lea-michele-on-funny-girl-debut-such-a-dream-come-true/).

All eyes were on Lea Michele for her 'Funny Girl' Broadway debut on September 6, following rumors of infighting in the theater. But her big Broadway moment ...

I found myself invested in their romance, shed a few tears, and was stunned back to life upon seeing Michele perform the original ending of the 11-o’clock hit “The Music That Makes Me Dance.” (The others were for her entrance, “I’m the Greatest Star,” “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” the finale number, and the four-minute curtain-call explosion.) “She was unbelievable,” a self-identified “Gleek” named Taylor unknowingly agreed a few moments later on the sidewalk. She’d recently left the city for Boston but bought tickets “within ten seconds of the casting announcement.” I asked why she came: “I’ve been a Lea fan since I was 7; there was no way I was missing this. Rather, she’s leaning into what we know about her and what she’s come to accept about herself: the “edge” Most of the show’s jokes and songs (God bless them all) are “funny” but not funny. can she?” moment and into the arena of an incessantly retweeted generic “joke” that doesn’t actually require much cognition. He dated Groff for a while.” My eyes shifted and there was Quinto, next to Michele’s Most of the people I spoke to were hesitant to give personal details, and many of them I recognized as working actors in New York theater. The woman next to me squared her jaw and clasped her hands. “Literally everyone I know is here,” a young woman standing in front of me told her friends. I figured Michele would sing the hell out of every song in the show, but what were the other theatergoers expecting?