Entertainment
Lea Michele proves she’s certainly got pipes as she belts out Funny Girl hit in first look at Broadway run-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
Girl can saaang!
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We officially have our first look at Lea Michele in Broadway’s Funny Girl after the actress was announced as Beanie Feldstein’s replacement.
The Glee star will take to the stage as Fanny Brice from September 6, previously describing the role as a ‘dream come true’.
In a first clip of rehearsals, Lea can be heard belting out Barbra Streisand’s I’m The Greatest Star, showcasing her incredible range and offering fans a teaser of what’s to come.
Video footage shared by the Broadway show also shows the TV star tap dancing and giving it her all in the rehearsal room, before prancing around on the stage ahead of her opening night next month.
Fans have shared their excitement after getting their first glimpse of Lea in the starring role, stating that she ‘sounds more incredible than ever’.
‘Wow, just….unbeatable, unbelievable pipes 🔥’, one person wrote on Instagram.
Lea’s vocals sound incredible! (Picture: Funny Girl Broadway)
She’s been perfecting her tap dancing ahead of her Broadway opening (Picture: Funny Girl Broadway)
‘I don’t know how she is as a human being…but definitely SHE is the Fanny Brice I want to see after Barbra!’, praised another.
A third super fan said they’ve been ‘dreaming of this day ever since Rachel Berry sang Don’t Rain on my Parade’, as Lea’s career really has come full circle.
It seems to be fate that she secured the big part, since her character Rachel sang almost every song from the musical, including My Man, Don’t Rain on My Parade, and I’m the Greatest Star in the series.
In fact, after Rachel graduated, she actually went on to star in Funny Girl on Broadway too, so maybe it was just meant to be! Lea will also have had plenty of practice performing the hits after six seasons of Glee.
Lea will take to the stage as Fanny Brice on September 6 (Picture: Funny Girl Broadway)
The Glee actress described the role as a ‘dream come true’ (Picture: Funny Girl Broadway)
There was a lot of discussion around Lea’s casting, after it came hot on the heels of Booksmart star Beanie saying she was leaving the leading role on July 31, almost two months earlier than she had recently been set to depart from the production – which was sooner than originally expected in itself.
Beanie said she was exiting the role sooner since the production team wanted to ‘take the show in a different direction’, as she called the role ‘a lifelong dream of mine’ and said it was an ‘extremely difficult decision’ to step away.
Broadway’s revival of Funny Girl opened back in April, telling the story of Fanny amid her rise to fame and her rocky relationship with gambler Nicky Arnstein.
Beanie Feldstein previously played the role but has since left (Picture: Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock)
The show first opened way back in 1964, with the iconic Streisand as the lead.
There’s big shoes to fill for Lea, especially as the show has been nominated for a multitude of awards in the past, including eight Tonys.
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But, she’ll be in good company, with Julie Benko currently stepping in, performing in the protagonist’s shoes from August 2 until September 4.
And when the curtains finally open for Lea, she’ll be joined by Tovah Feldshuh as Jane Lynch (who plays Mrs Brice) also steps down from her role earlier than expected.
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