My husband and I saw Lea in December. We were completely blown away by her and the whole cast. It was easily one of my top three live theater performances of all time. I thought I knew this story backward and forward (from many repeat viewings of the movie, starting from when I was in junior high 40 years ago). But Lea, Ramin, Tovah, and the rest of the cast made it all seem new. I knew Lea was a great singer, but I had no idea she was also a brilliant dramatic actress. I was completely swept up in the story as I saw her Fanny evolve from being a dreamy kid to a heartbroken star. Wow!!! As a side note, I was also really happy that the audience didn’t interrupt her singing too much with applause (though, of course, we all went wild at the appropriate times). As the show ended, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Before our trip to NY to see the show, I thought we’d want to watch the movie after we got home. (My husband has never seen it.) However, I found I didn’t want anything to interfere with my memory of the show. We are now on our way back to NY to see it a second time.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! You won’t regret it.