Lea Michele to Star as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL Starting 9/6; Beanie Feldstein Departing 7/31 — Page 20

Scandals and drama aside, will Lea Michele boost ticket sales? I don't see her appeal lasting beyond the first couple of weeks.

HenryT: "Scandals and drama aside, will Lea Michele boost ticket sales? I don't see her appeal lasting beyond the first couple of weeks."

Agreed. Most people don't who she is. Glee is a forgotten TV show. But you never know. The ones who DO know who and what she is will not be going near the August Wilson.

WinstonSalem said: "joevitus said: ""We don't know anything much...except she was mean to some of the background people...and the new people...and people who were on the show from the beginning..." Yeah, there's...not much you can infer from all of that. LOL"



Good god, how did I end up in a position where I feel like I'm defending a woman I have no intention of defending? Lea was terrible to her understudy on Ragtime. If you think you can infer from that known behavior that she was also terrible to Audra McDonald or Marin Mazzie, then go ahead. I personally do not think that you can infer from the stories that are publicly known that Lea bullied or was terrible to Jane such that Jane would automatically hate her. THAT is all I'm saying!! Maybe Jane does hate her. NONE OF US KNOW.

"

I don't think anyone is saying that you're saying she treated Jane poorly. I doubt she did. Why would she? The point that is being made is we know enough to know she bullied people on the Glee set and a good amount of people that worked with her did not have a pleasant experience.

I don't know how the behind-the-scenes work and it probably makes sense for Jane to leave for other reasons than not liking Lea. BUT I'm also sure Jane doesn't want that heat and doesn't want to be associated with a racist. So, she's dodging a bullet.

Those who think the show won’t sell with Lea are sorely mistaken…

Wow, this thread is going off the rails. I love spending time on these boards, but the level of obsessing and hyperfixating that some of you people do is just beyond. It happened on the Beanie thread(s) and it's happening here now. Denouncing Lea for bad behavior at Ragtime, which was (1) nearly a quarter of a century ago, and (2) when she was literally like 11 or 12 years old... really?!?

The bottom line is that show business is just that—a business. Whether you like it or not, Lea is one of the most talented voices of this generation and she is going to be a hot sell. Her first performance is already completely sold out. This is why the producers cast her. It's a brilliant producing move at this stage in the production's life.

People grow, evolve, and change, and Lea herself has publicly apologized for her past actions. What more do you people want her to do? Sit back and let people call her a racist and a meanie pants on the Internet while she lets dream roles pass her by? Get real. I'm fully willing to give Lea the benefit of the doubt that she's learned from her past experiences and will be a lovely, gracious addition to the company of Funny Girl. I cannot wait to see her as Fanny.

"While I don’t remember ever making this specific statement and I have never judged others by their background or color of their skin, that’s not really the point. What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people... I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused. We all can grow and change and I have definitely used these past several months to reflect my own shortcomings... listened to these criticisms and I am learning and while I am very sorry, I will be better in the future from this experience.”

Feels like an apology. Could she have gone further? Yea absolutely. Is she still probably not a nice lady, yea probably. But she did apologize. You do have to allow space for people to grow.

Just some thoughts.

I wondered initially why Beanie wasn't given an alternate. I guess since my most recent theater experience was Phantom, I assumed a female lead with such a demanding role would only work 6 or 7 performances a week. Someone here informed me that Phantom was like a repertory, i.e., no stars. People expected to see Beanie. I'm not sure it would have made a difference overall, but might have helped her deal with the schedule.

Lea, as with Beanie, is a total unknown to me - never heard of either of them before FG. Did my research on Beanie and have done some on Lea. Her singing - she has a great voice, very Streisand-esque, whether intended or not. The clips I've seen seem to be Lea playing Barbra playing Fanny. That might change. I don't know about her comic acting ability, so: no comment.

I do think, however, an actress who can do comedy is more important than someone who is funny - great if she is both (Carol Burnett comes to mind, who turned it down). This was, I felt a problem with Beanie - there was no cohesion between schtick and playing the role. After Julie's and, co-incidentally, Ephie's validation of actresses who could do comedy bringing the show together, may be the change in direction they decided to take.

Emotional connection to the Nicky character - most people said there was none between Beanie as Fanny (although apparently they loved working together) and Ramin, however, the comments I read said Julie had great chemistry with him. This was a big issue that they may be trying to rectify. Since that relationship is a really big element of the show and is the counterpoint to her success as an actress/comedienne and problems as a wife/lover. Otherwise, it just becomes an album/concert, which is basically what I have on a CD of the original show. Some may want that. I happen to like the back story.

Lea's past. As I said, never heard of her. Obviously, she has a past. One hopes she has grown, and grown up from that period of time. There's a saying that people don't change, they just get worse as they get older. I can attest to that somewhat as a senior citizen. However, most people don't know about her past and aren't going to look at SM to find out about her before buying tickets. If she can sell the show, more power to her.

Jane and Lea - Jane may not like her - doesn't matter.

Love Tovah and she just feels right for the role of Mrs. Brice.

Beanie dreamed of playing Fanny, and she did. Lea dreamed of playing Fanny, and she will. I'm guessing both Julie and Ephie had these dreams as well. I hope the show succeeds so all those other young actress/singers who dream of playing Fanny can do so, too.

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "from Queerty. This column is about (at least) 5 celebrities who you will not see at Lea Michele's Opening Night. There are details.https://www.queerty.com/5-celebrities-totally-wont-lea-micheles-funny-girl-premiere-20220711?utm_content=buffera3f9c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR3v8uFxz1cK0E-LPlpiBqXeqguBByM-sBXFs_kvBpBR56M1RWsh_eZd_tM"

With these 5 so-called celebrities not attending Opening Night, the show will close the next day.

https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/lea-michele-funny-girl-casting-samantha-ware-allegations.html



this is something else from 7/11/22 doesn't seem like Ware was sure Lea was a real racist? This is all confusing and meant to disrupt this thread. Is it to get some attention? I never watched Glee, but didn't that end like 7 years ago? I heard Lea bullied people on the set long ago, but what does that have to do with her being in this show? I'm confused.

The tickets in September are selling like hotcakes.

shocktheatre said: "She ain't done any movies, she is far from a household name.”

Far from it. I may not have watched GLEE but I, along with millions, are aware of Lea Michele. She’s FAR more known than Beanie Feldstein. If Beanie didn’t do IMPEACHMENT, there wouldn’t have been any recognizable place point to identify her to others. Even then, millions still have zero idea who she is. As mentioned previously, this revival was mounted for Beanie based on the huge industry buzz IMPEACHMENT was generating. The media coverage of her alongside the real Monica Lewinsky. It was going to be HUGE. Explosive even. Then it aired and no one watched. I did and loved it, but I was one of the few that watched. Not even an Emmy Award nod for Beanie or even the series. Lea Michele has an Emmy Award nomination for GLEE. The television Academy recognized her and her work on GLEE. That can never be taken away from her. She’s also been nominated for the Golden Globe as well as Grammy Awards and the Screen Actor’s Guild. Yes, Virginia. People know who Lea Michele is.

BrodyFosse123 said: "Not even an Emmy Award nod for Beanie or even the series. "

I guess we can add being passed over for an Emmy Award to the list of fictitious failings assigned to Beanie Feldstein on these boards. (the nominations havent even happened yet).

Jordan Catalano said: "There’s a LOT of discussions like this going on today and they’re not going to just stop."

There's a lot of people who remain angry at Lea Michele even after apologizing: I apologize for my behavior and for any pain which I have caused - which the lady in that tiktok video that Jordan linked claims she never did.

People are going to hear what they want to hear and feel what they want to feel and I guarantee you that if Lea Michele went to the top of the highest mountain right now and gave a heartfelt apology for all that she has allegedly done it still would not be enough for these people.

Lea will go on, play this role and she may even surprise some people, make a comeback and get all her flowers and guess what? These people will still stay mad. That is too bad for them because holding on to that much hate and vitriol is not healthy.

At this point they are not hurting Lea Michele - they're hurting themselves.