'Funny Girl' with Lea Michele to end Broadway run in September (original) (raw)
The Glee actress will be Funny Girl's greatest star a little while longer.
Published on March 2, 2023 09:00AM EST
Lea Michele isn't going to rain on Broadway's parade just yet.
She and the additional principal cast, including Tovah Feldshuh, Ramin Karimloo, and Jared Grimes, have officially extended their run in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
Michele and the other cast members will now remain with the show through Sunday, Sept. 3, which will also mark the revival's final performance on Broadway.
The production marks the first ever Broadway revival of the 1964 musical that made Barbra Streisand a star. It will close after playing 599 performances and 30 previews at the August Wilson Theatre.
Lea Michele in Broadway's 'Funny Girl'. Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Funny Girl originally opened last spring starring [Beanie Feldstein](http://Beanie Feldstein | EW.com - Entertainment Weeklyhttps://ew.com ' People) as Fanny Brice, the legendary comic and vaudeville performer who is torn between her successful career and her love for the wrong man. Feldstein starred opposite Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice, the role now played by Feldshuh. Karimloo and Grimes have been the production since it opened, and Grimes received a Tony nomination for his work.
After receiving lackluster reviews, Feldstein exited the production early amid swirling rumors about turmoil behind-the-scenes. Michele, who many had considered a favorite for Fanny before any casting was announced, was named as her replacement.
"This is such a dream come true for me," Michele told EW in a statement ahead of her first performance in the role. "And I cannot wait to take the stage on Tuesday as Fanny Brice on Broadway."
Making good on a performance record she'd established singing Funny Girl numbers on Glee, Michele delivered a much-needed boost to the flagging revival, earning rave reviews and multiple standing ovations on her first night in the show. Since she signed on, Michele and the company have broken the box office record at the August Wilson Theatre multiple times.
Lea Michele and Ramin Karimloo in 'Funny Girl'. Matthew Murphy
"It's all buoyed by the burst of energy Michele brings to the long-awaited revival and the electricity from the audiences coming to see her," wrote Jessica Derschowitz in a review for EW. "With her at the center, it feels impossible to rain on the parade."
When Michele closes the revival out she will have been with the production for nearly a year, having made her debut on Sept. 6, 2022.
Tickets for the final block of performances are now on sale.
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