The Lea Michele/Beanie Feldstein ‘Funny Girl’ Casting Saga Just Keeps Giving
Gossip is swirling around Feldstein's departure and Michele's casting in the Broadway revival.
CelebritiesDirt Bag

It’s Beanie mania all over again, except this time people are collecting anecdotes and memes, not little stuffed animals they hope to somehow use to fund their children’s college education. A collective giddiness has descended upon the internet (or at least the corner of it that cares about theatre news) for more than 24 hours now, following Beanie Feldstein’s announcement that she’s leaving the Broadway revival of Funny Girl months earlier than expected, and the subsequent announcement that a woman that Feldstein does not know whatsoever will be replacing her.
In a move whose high predictability did not mitigate its impact, Funny Girl producers announced Monday that indeed Lea Michele would be stepping into the role on September 6. Feldstein said in her announcement that her final performance would take place on July 31. Her understudy Julie Benko is set to fill the role of Fanny Brice during the week between Feldstein’s and Michele’s tenures. That’s a spicy sandwich.
That announcement of Feldstein’s, by the way, “blindsided” producers, according to Page Six. “A Broadway insider tells us that producers were planning on making the announcement on Monday–but Feldstein, 29, “beat them to the punch when she posted on Sunday evening,” read the rag’s report. The unnamed source added, “She clearly doesn’t give a shit.” I mean, would you? Your only shot at owning news about yourself is getting in front of it.