Beanie Feldstein And Jane Lynch Are Both Leaving The Broadway Revival Of “Funny Girl” In The Fall
In April, Beanie Feldstein took the stage back as the titular funny girl herself Fanny Brice in the first-ever Broadway revival of Funny Girl. The original Fanny, Barbra Streisand, stayed with the show for almost two years. But well, Beanie Feldstein will only be the “greatest star” for another five months. Also joining her exit is Jane Lynch.
Deadline says that Funny Girl producers made the big announcement on the heels of a tweet welcoming Beanie back from a health break (Beanie caught COVID-19, and was forced to take a week off to recover). They tweeted that Beanie could once again be seen on stage as Fanny Brice, but better get your tickets fast, because that parade is gonna get rained on come September when Beanie says goodbye for good. Beanie will have performed the role for exactly five months, officially starting on April 24, 2022. Jane Lynch played Mrs. Brice, and she’s out too.
Beanie returns tomorrow! 14 weeks left to see Beanie Feldstein & Jane Lynch now through September 25th. Stay tuned for additional casting news to join Ramin Karimloo & Jared Grimes and the company of Funny Girl. pic.twitter.com/YOmtoUsFm9
— Funny Girl on Broadway (@FunnyGirlBwy) June 15, 2022
Beanie released a statement regarding her exit on Instagram. When it was announced last year that Beanie would be the first to attempt Barbra’s role in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl, she expressed that it was a lifelong dream of hers. Unsurprisingly, she’s once again talking about how the experience was a dream come true.
The reviews for the Funny Girl revival conjured up the mental image of a critic dramatically holding their nose and sneering, “Peeeee-yewwwww“. The reviews for the Funny Girl revival were mixed, to say the least, with many implying that Beanie, who isn’t traditionally a theater actress, was maybe struggling a little in the lead role. Also, the revival was nominated for a grand total of one single Tony award (the Best Actor in a Featured Role for Jared Grimes). It wasn’t even like the Best Revival of a Musical was a stacked category: only three revivals were nominated (with Company winning). So maybe they want off what might be a stinking shit – excuse me, sinking ship.
There isn’t news of who will be cast in either of the vacant roles, but Beanie’s understudy Julie Benko has reportedly been doing a really terrific job in her absence. I’m sure we’ll find out soon. Although I highly doubt we’ll hear producers of Funny Girl announce that after September 25, the role of Fanny will be played by Lea Michele. That would imply that producers were able to contact Lea with an offer. And we all know Lea is too busy to come to the phone right now, or ever. Her days will be spent leaving gifts and trinkets to whatever creepy shrine she created that cursed the Funny Girl revival to experience the opposite of success.
Pic: Instagram