Lea Michele Is NOT Fanny Brice

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Images via Instagram | @BeanieFeldstein & @LeaMichele

Beanie Feldstein Scores The Role Of A Lifetime In Broadway’s Funny Girl Revival

Broadway is back, baby! After such a long hiatus due to the ongoing pandemic, society has finally deemed entertainment appropriate and we’re now heading into non-home theaters, nightclubs, bars, and special experiences like Broadway. Just as revivals and reboots have hit film and television, Broadway’s Funny Girl, made legendary by Barbra Streisand’s portrayal of the titular character and music by Jule Styne, is getting a 2022 revival with a welcoming, although surprising, lead.

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According to New York Post, the openly queer and rising actress, Beanie Feldstein, is taking on Streisand’s role of Fanny Brice! You may recognize Feldstein from her roles in smash films like Booksmart and Lady Bird, but you likely have seen her in recent headlines as she’s due to portray Bill Clinton’s White House love interest, Monica Lewinsky, in Ryan Murphy’s latest American Crime Story: Impeachment. Oh yeah, and she just so happens to be the sister of comedian turned drama actor, Jonah Hill! Feldstein has been in a relationship with a female producer for the last three years and is constantly gaining more and more recognition and reputation with her devoted activism on social media and connecting with her fans. Rumors have swirled that Rosie O’Donnell will be playing Fanny’s mother and powerhouse RENT performer, Idina Menzel, will be leading the production – but neither are yet to be confirmed. Regardless, it will be great to watch Feldstein’s career flourish, especially with her new role as the Queen of Broadway, but social media has pointed out that she may be viewed as a villain to one former Glee actress.

If you’ve even slightly followed the career of singer and actress, Lea Michele, you’ll know that her character Rachel Berry on Murphy’s homage to Broadway, Glee, was an aspiring Streisand-wannabe, even performing a rendition of the popular song Don’t Rain on My Parade. It was clear to anyone that Michele’s real-life professional aspirations matched her fictional character like peanut butter and chocolate. Despite seemingly playing Fanny Brice already on the silver screen and a long career on the stage, Michele didn’t land the role of everyone’s favorite Funny Girl. Yikes.

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Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that social media is sometimes never kind, especially to someone like Michele who is alleged to be a horrible person to be around. So, Twitter decided to have a field day celebrating Feldstein’s role by speculating that Michele is being tortured with the news. Check out some tweets from social media users below who had Michele trending all day today:

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https://twitter.com/Kimberlyosorio_/status/1425527602861723653

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Although to Michele’s credit, no one even knows if she auditioned for this revival. Yes, Murphy did purchase the rights to Funny Girl in 2014 with the intent to have Michele star, but he later gave up those rights a year later. So, she likely wasn’t expecting this to be handed to her as Murphy gave her the starring role in his popular musical series. Although, she did tell Andy Cohen in 2017 that she was still ‘ready’ to be Fanny Brice. It’s kind of embarrassing…and it’s easy to make a joke at anyone’s expense, and hard to believe Michele would publicly voice her frustration over a role we didn’t know she truly had. We’re sure she’s happy for Feldstein, because we all are, right?! Let’s not rain on her parade. And at the very worst, this could become some great source material for Murphy’s next Feud series…

Writer’s Note A: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.

Source: New York Post, Meaww, Broadway World

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