By ANGELINA MANDELL, Copy Editor
In the midst of plenty of pop culture drama over the past month or so, the theater community did not fall short after the revival of the iconic 1964 musical Funny Girl released an announcement that would send theater kids and gleeks alike into a frenzy. On July 11, 2022, Glee actress Lea Michele announced alongside the Funny Girl social media that she would be taking over the lead role of Fanny Brice from Beanie Feldstein after she made her Broadway debut in the revival. Why was this such a big deal? If you find yourself asking this question, you clearly haven’t seen the hit early 2010s show, Glee.
The lore of Lea Michele and Funny Girl started and continued long after her time as the obnoxiously talented Barbra Streisand fan, Rachel Berry. As Rachel took being a ‘Sharpay Evans’ type theater kid to a whole extra level, her end goal on Glee was always to take after her idol Streisand and star in Funny Girl. As gleeks know, she actually does achieve her dream in season five.
However, Lea Michele’s connection to the musical was not solely a role. Michele has had a lengthy timeline with the musical throughout her acting and singing career. She performed the iconic song, “Don’t Rain on my Parade,” at the 2009 Tony Awards, along with singing numerous Funny Girl tracks at various concerts and shows she had been in over the past years. Many even comment that Michele’s obsession with Funny Girl was included on Glee as a sort of six-year public audition tape.
Sure, for fans, this reveal of the Rachel Berry timeline coming to life as Michele takes the stage is quite the announcement, but the bulk of the drama stems from Michele as an actress and her controversial past. Although it happened throughout the past ten years, most notably, in 2020, co-stars of Michele’s from her Glee days and her run in the musical Spring Awakening had come forward making public statements about Michele bullying them on set.
After Michele tweeted in 2020 in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, her Glee co-star, Samantha Ware, a black woman, tweeted about how she bullied her on set and had made some notable racist remarks. Others that worked with Michele, like Brittany Pierce actress Heather Morris, followed in Ware’s footsteps exposing the disrespect and bullying that Michele displayed to make their jobs “a living hell.”
Despite the accusations against Michele, throughout the summer of 2022, she began her rehearsals for the revival. Her Glee co-star and antagonist of the series, Jane Lynch, was part of the revival’s original cast as Mrs. Brice. However, upon hearing that Michele was to take on the role of Fanny, she conveniently announced her final show date of Sept. 4 right before Michele’s debut.
Lea Michele has also graced almost everyone’s Twitter feed or TikTok for you page after a conspiracy theory-turned meme went viral. A theory surfaced that Michele was illiterate after fans analyzed interviews and clips that possibly demonstrated her inability to read. As she started performing at a very young age, many suspected that her leaving school may be the cause. Even though Michele has written a book, You First: Journal Your Way to Your Best Life, it is a journaling book that the reader has to write themselves, containing mainly pictures with captions. When Michele had been asked the question of whether or not she could read, she seemingly dodged the question. She has since denied the rumor, but fans will not stop bringing up more evidence.
On Sept. 6, Lea Michele made her Funny Girl debut in the August Wilson theater as Fanny Brice, following in the footsteps of actress Beanie Feldstein, and although we hate to admit it, clips taken from sneaky theater-goers show that she ate that performance up and left no crumbs. Her voice was as strong as ever as the audience got major flashbacks to the season one finale of Glee as she belted “Don’t Rain on my Parade.” Michele ended the night with six standing ovations and quite positive reviews (ah, if only she could read them).
However, as the rollercoaster of this timeline continues, Lea Michele dropped more news to fuel the Twitter tea. On Sept. 10, Broadway news outlets such as Playbill announced that Lea Michele will be stepping away from Funny Girl because she has tested positive for COVID-19. Michele would not be able to return to the August Wilson stage until at least Sept. 20. In the meantime, understudy and interim Fanny Brice, Julie Benko took over all performances after previously being on Thursdays only. Benko mentioned in a TikTok that COVID had been forcing multiple members of the Funny Girl cast and crew to head out, calling in others to take their places on short notice.
Lea Michele returned as Fanny Brice the night of Tuesday Sept. 21. It seems as if her break with COVID-19 did not affect her too much as she took to the stage and delivered her usual show-stopping performance. She did an interview with Drew Barrymore and talked about how she relates so much to the character of Fanny. Some of her Glee co-stars like Becca Tobin came to see her re-opening night. I guess no one, not even the coronavirus, could rain on Lea Michele’s parade.
