Lea Michele to Star as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL Starting 9/6; Beanie Feldstein Departing 7/31- Page 29

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:28pm

RippedMan said: "Honestly can't even feel bad for her. Especially if she's putting the blame on her stand-by. Like, girl bye. You clearly don't honor the very industry you're trying to be a part of."

Yessssss.

 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:32pm

David10086 said: "CarlosAlberto said: "David10086 said: "CarlosAlberto said: "OMG - you guys are not comparing this to the disaster that was Holly Golightly/Breakfast at Tiffany’s - totally different era and completely different circumstances….WTF?!?!?!"

I wasn't comparing the two at all. Read my post again.

I was pointing out the fact that despite many posters here saying "in the 60s and 70s this kind of drama didn't take place, and no one got fired before a show opened", it happened - with Mary Tyler Moore in 'BAT'. Had nothing to do with comparing MTM to Beanie, or 'BAT' to 'FG' at all - just pointing out that firings did happen in the 60s. Yet comprehension escapes some members of this forum."

Technically MTM wasn’t fired - Merrill just chose to close the show. Facts escape some members of this forum."

She was on the verge of being fired in Boston and replaced by Diahann Carroll, who would then open on Broadway. If Carroll accepted Merrick's offer to her when she went to Boston to see the show, MTM would've been packing her bags in Boston to go home. As it happened, the show was shut down before MTM embarrassed herself, so yes - she was fired. She was not employed in the Broadway musical as planned.



Again - comprehension skills are your friend."

 

Again, enough with your bullying.

 

[alovingfan]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:33pm

Benko is not to blame .  The producers could have taken better care of their show and their star .  I did find Benko’s self promoting shady after a certain point. But I don’t believe that was her intent.   And I know I am in the minority.    

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:46pm

Highland Guy said: "David10086 said: "CarlosAlberto said: "David10086 said: "CarlosAlberto said: "OMG - you guys are not comparing this to the disaster that was Holly Golightly/Breakfast at Tiffany’s - totally different era and completely different circumstances….WTF?!?!?!"

I wasn't comparing the two at all. Read my post again.

I was pointing out the fact that despite many posters here saying "in the 60s and 70s this kind of drama didn't take place, and no one got fired before a show opened", it happened - with Mary Tyler Moore in 'BAT'. Had nothing to do with comparing MTM to Beanie, or 'BAT' to 'FG' at all - just pointing out that firings did happen in the 60s. Yet comprehension escapes some members of this forum."

Technically MTM wasn’t fired - Merrill just chose to close the show. Facts escape some members of this forum."

She was on the verge of being fired in Boston and replaced by Diahann Carroll, who would then open on Broadway. If Carroll accepted Merrick's offer to her when she went to Boston to see the show, MTM would've been packing her bags in Boston to go home. As it happened, the show was shut down before MTM embarrassed herself, so yes - she was fired. She was not employed in the Broadway musical as planned.



Again - comprehension skills are your friend."



Again, enough with your bullying.

"

That ain't bullying. Snide, but not bullying.

[Popular]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:46pm

alovingfan said: "Benko is not to blame . The producers could have taken better care of their show and their star . I did find Benko’s self promoting shady after a certain point. But I don’t believe that was her intent. And I know I am in the minority. "

Did I miss something? I’ve never seen Benko be anything less than classy, gracious, and grateful in sharing her opportunities to go on as Fanny. We live in a world of social media where such opportunities are meant to be self promoted. Casting directors sometimes even ask about your following online because they know the more presence you have the better potential for them to benefit from it. I’ve also not seen anyone blame Benko, including Beanie. Beanie is human and I imagine it didn’t feel good to read the raves in comparison to her own reviews, but no one should expect Benko to stop posting because of hurt feelings or because she’s getting comments and responses she can’t control (that actually benefit her). Dragging Benko into the discussion makes no sense. She does her job well and has stayed out of the drama in my opinion. What else do you want from her? 

[alovingfan]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 4:52pm

Popular said: "alovingfan said: "Benko is not to blame . The producers could have taken better care of their show and their star . I did find Benko’s self promoting shady after a certain point. But I don’t believe that was her intent. And I know I am in the minority. "

Did I miss something? I’ve never seen Benko be anything less than classy, gracious, and grateful in sharing her opportunities to go on as Fanny. We live in a world of social media where such opportunities are meant to be self promoted. Casting directors sometimes even ask about your following online because they know the more presence you have the better potential for them to benefit from it. I’ve also not seen anyone blame Benko, including Beanie. Beanie is human and I imagine it didn’t feel good to read the raves in comparison to her own reviews, but no one should expect Benko to stop posting because of hurt feelings or because she’s getting comments and responses she can’t control (that actually benefit her). Dragging Benko into the discussion makes no sense. She does her job well and has stayed out of the drama in my opinion. What else do you want from her?"

Did you read the Daily Beast article ?  And I don’t think

you missed anything .  I am older and perhaps not as tuned in to social media ways.  Was just stating my opinion.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:01pm

Beanie was in her feelings because her standby was better than her and the audience & fan reception showed that. It's understandable that Beanie would come to resent Benko and her social media announcements, (but in reality, Beanie was missing 1 of every 4 performances, so, besides the COVID period, it was a mess of Beanie's own making) however detached from reality that conclusion was

Understandable, yes. Rational, no. Professional? Depends if Beanie tried in any way to shut Benko down through production, which hasn't been reported. If Beanie had feelings and didn't allow them to seep into her behavior, then I would say Beanie was acting professional. We all have personal feelings about co-workers. Usually, we can be professional and check our personal feelings at the door. I hope Beanie did so.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:06pm

the pace at which certain vipers here continue to either wholly invent stuff out of thin air, or rely on some random tweet as gospel, is wild. Now Beanie was "in her feelings" and somehow rude/unkind to Benko? There is now friction between them, and Beanie is being mean to her somehow because of an unsourced tweet ? 

I get that it feels good when you think you know whats going on, but few of you do, and the eagerness to spin this narrative is wiiiild. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:06pm

Julie did nothing wrong. She shouldn't have to make her performance worse so Beanie's could look better.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:14pm

Now Beanie was "in her feelings" and somehow rude/unkind to Benko?

Beanie was clearly "in her feelings" as the Daily Beast article attests. As for the second point, I clearly stated that there was no reporting that said that. There was tension.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:18pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "the pace at which certain vipers here continue to either wholly invent stuff out of thin air, or rely on some random tweet as gospel, is wild. Now Beanie was "in her feelings" and somehow rude/unkind to Benko? There is now friction between them, and Beanie is being mean to her somehow because of an unsourced tweet ?

I get that it feels good when you think you know whats going on, but few of you do, and the eagerness to spin this narrative is wiiiild."

The Daily Beast article reads: 

The source said Benko's announcements on social media when she was standing in for Feldstein caused ill feeling.

"They were harmless posts, and it was fine until people started saying how amazing Julie was, which didn't reflect well on Beanie after all the negative reviews. The producers spoke with each other and were evenly spit on whether to allow the posts. The producers didn't shut it down, and maybe they should have. Beanie minded it. She said words to the effect of, 'I don't feel supported by you while I'm away.' This is not an uncommon problem. You want your understudy to be good, but you don't want them to be better than the star, or seen to be so. That harms the show."

 

 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:33pm

“They either want The Bean or they don’t want The Bean.”

Those who didn’t want The Bean evidently wanted The Benko.

Will someone in the cast or crew please kindly remind Beanie of her motto, because by her very own words(!) she needs to be okay about the way this has all turned out. Some people get adored on Broadway, some people get invited to Hamptons weddings and take time off in their first month like a total unprofessional.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:50pm

Husband and I have reluctantly decided against making the cross-country trip to see Lea Michele shine as Fanny Brice.  We were first introduced to "Funny Girl" in 1968 (1969, perhaps) when we saw Barbra's wonderful movie in Paris (with French subtitles).  We had hoped to see this stage version more than half a century later, but have too many Covid concerns.

Have any of you purchased your tickets?

Lea Michele IS Fanny Brice !!  

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 5:57pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Yes, Mayer seems to be a major problem with this production. Beanie probably would have fared better with a different director (and different musical arrangements –– the songs sit in her vocal break) who aimed for more "60s musical comedy" and less "Follies." While he probably had Broadway in his London contract, Sonia & co. could have found a [costly] way to part ways with him if they really felt the London production had insurmountable problems. George C. Wolfe, Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Kathleen Marshall, Casey Nicholaw, Rob Marshall, even this board's punching bags Rob Ashford or Scott Ellis. Mayer is so hit-and-miss."

Someone said this production is more lavish than London but it looks like everything is happening backstage except for the Vegas Rigoletto knockoff. Bad costumes, bad set, bad promotional art... Beanie's talent and stamina were issues but I'll be curious if they can make meaningful changes for Lea Michele.

I don't know what the erosion of the Glee fandom has been like since 2015 but they only need to sell 1222 tickets a night. Even at its lowest ratings, if every viewer bought a ticket, they would have a healthy run. 

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:00pm

"How much of a box office success are we actually expecting Lea to be? The only people who are truly excited for this are theatergoers and maybe a small minority of GLEE fans but other than that... Who is Lea's demographic? It's not like she also has a huge music career and none of the projects she's done after Glee have become big hits. I imagine this will bring a boost for the first few weeks but after the people who really want to see her as Fanny do so... What will be left?"

I am going to assume there may be some reviews when Lea takes over the lead role. I also expect her to do a lot of media things to try and get some interest in the show. If she gets very positive reviews after all the negativity it may have positive impact at the box office. I guess we will all see in the near future,

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:05pm

FWIW, the social media blackout for understudies and even non-leads is a pretty typical demand of A-list stars. I remember during Hello Dolly! there was a social media blackout of all the cast members that only lifted on Bette's last day. Then they did post backstage pictures and what not. Whether Beanie is the kind of A-list star who can make that demand is another matter, but it's not an atypical demand. 

 

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:14pm

alovingfan said: "Benko is not to blame . The producers could have taken better care of their show and their star . I did find Benko’s self promoting shady after a certain point. But I don’t believe that was her intent. And I know I am in the minority. "

Benko is a good Fanny.  But it’s not the incredible performance your all making it out to be.  Beanie is just THAT wrong in the part .  And btw.. I also thought after a point her social media posts reaked Eve Harrington. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:15pm

poisonivy2 said: "FWIW, the social media blackout for understudies and even non-leads is a pretty typical demand of A-list stars. I remember during Hello Dolly! there was a social media blackout of all the cast members that only lifted on Bette's last day. Then they did post backstage pictures and what not. Whether Beanie is the kind of A-list star who can make that demand is another matter, but it's not an atypical demand.

"

This was already discussed earlier in the thread but it was my understand that was a Scott Rudin, not a Bette Midler thing. And he lifted it in order to drum up publicity/ticket sales when Bernadette joined.

And are there other examples that make you say it's not an atypical demand?

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:15pm

Obviously we don't have numbers for streaming, but Glee has done quite well remaining in pop culture through Netflix and now Disney+. Olivia Rodrigo (19) sang about watching re-runs of Glee on one of her singles. I think Glee is still very much a part of current pop culture, but I don't know what, if any, effect that will have on the Box Office.

Oh, and who can forget videos like this, published in April of this year, with over 2.5 million views. If you have a spare 2 hours...

An appropriately unhinged recap of Glee (part 1)

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:18pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "poisonivy2 said: "FWIW, the social media blackout for understudies and even non-leads is a pretty typical demand of A-list stars. I remember during Hello Dolly! there was a social media blackout of all the cast members that only lifted on Bette's last day. Then they did post backstage pictures and what not. Whether Beanie is the kind of A-list star who can make that demand is another matter, but it's not an atypical demand.

"

This was already discussed earlier in the thread but it was my understand that was a Scott Rudin, not a Bette Midler thing. And he lifted it in order to drum up publicity/ticket sales when Bernadette joined.

And are there other examples that make you say it's not an atypical demand?"

TKAM also had a social media blackout. Not as extreme as cast members did post curtain calls and what not, but similar.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:21pm

poisonivy2 said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "poisonivy2 said: "FWIW, the social media blackout for understudies and even non-leads is a pretty typical demand of A-list stars. I remember during Hello Dolly! there was a social media blackout of all the cast members that only lifted on Bette's last day. Then they did post backstage pictures and what not. Whether Beanie is the kind of A-list star who can make that demand is another matter, but it's not an atypical demand.

"

This was already discussed earlier in the thread but it was my understand that was a Scott Rudin, not a Bette Midler thing. And he lifted it in order to drum up publicity/ticket sales when Bernadette joined.

And are there other examples that make you say it's not an atypical demand?"

TKAM also had a social media blackout. Not as extreme as cast members did post curtain calls and what not, but similar."

Was that a Jeff Daniels thing though? That sounds like a Scott Rudin thing again. So I'm still not seeing your point about it being "not atypical" for A list stars?

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:22pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "poisonivy2 said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "poisonivy2 said: "FWIW, the social media blackout for understudies and even non-leads is a pretty typical demand of A-list stars. I remember during Hello Dolly! there was a social media blackout of all the cast members that only lifted on Bette's last day. Then they did post backstage pictures and what not. Whether Beanie is the kind of A-list star who can make that demand is another matter, but it's not an atypical demand.

"

This was already discussed earlier in the thread but it was my understand that was a Scott Rudin, not a Bette Midler thing. And he lifted it in order to drum up publicity/ticket sales when Bernadette joined.

And are there other examples that make you say it's not an atypical demand?"

TKAM also had a social media blackout. Not as extreme as cast members did post curtain calls and what not, but similar."

Was that a Jeff Daniels thing though? That sounds like a Scott Rudin thing again. So I'm still not seeing your point about it being "not atypical" for A list stars?"

Ok. Lemme revise. It's not atypical for big-name productions to ask for a SM blackout. Scott Rudin especially insists on it. 

Idk what the SM rules were for Funny Girl. Every production is different.

[whatever2]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:23pm

> Delusional take. If you’re going to stir the pot, at least be good at it. 

I've been a subscribed to this board for 16 years. I don't post so much anymore, but i do read daily. I've always found CarlosAlberto to be a completely competent pot-stirrer.

i declare this post a shot and a miss.

(I believe that's a sports reference.)

:)

[JasonC3]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:26pm

I admire the stamina some of you have to stay engaged with this thread.

[shocktheatre]

Posted: 7/13/22 at 6:26pm

Piping Hot Piccolo says:

"the pace at which certain vipers here continue to either wholly invent stuff out of thin air, or rely on some random tweet as gospel, is wild. Now Beanie was "in her feelings" and somehow rude/unkind to Benko? There is now friction between them, and Beanie is being mean to her somehow because of an unsourced tweet ? 

I get that it feels good when you think you know whats going on, but few of you do, and the eagerness to spin this narrative is wiiiild."

What "narrative"?.

It is obvious to anyone with a brain that BF should never have been cast in this cheap roadshow FG.

All this happening now is aftermath.

It is not "narrative." (my nominee for the most overused word in the last two decades, a close second to "awesome".)

Lord.