The best dramas in life are the ones that happen off-stage, which is precisely what is happening right now on, of all places, Broadway.
Funny Girl, the semi-biographical musical of New York vaudeville comedian Fanny Bryce, has just experienced a major cast turnover. That news in itself isn’t all that exciting, but the reasons behind the re-casting and a bizarre life-imitates-art moment involving the cast of Glee have made this one of the most compelling Broadway scandals in recent times.
Beanie Feldstein and Lea Michele are at the centre of a drama off the stage at Broadway.Credit:Chris Pizzell, Jordan Strauss/Invision
I’ll be honest, I’ve seen a lot of talk about some off-stage Broadway drama but I have no idea what it means or why I should care. Explain it to me?
OK, so. Glee. Remember it?
Yeah, the show about musical-loving teens and their musical-hating sports coach?
That’s the one. Across the whole show, there was this running gag that main character Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele) wanted to sing in the musical Funny Girl. The 1964 stage show (and subsequent Oscar-winning film) catapulted Barbra Streisand into fame. And it just so happened that Streisand was Rachel Berry’s idol.
Back in the real world, the iconic show was virtually never brought back (aside from a few attempts in Europe a few years ago). The thought was: nobody could ever fill Streisand’s shoes, so why bother trying? Until they did!
So did they cast Rachel Berry?
Rachel Berry is a character from Glee, not a real person, remember. But, since the dawn of time (circa 2009 when Glee first aired) there has been this general assumption in the musical world that if Funny Girl ever returned Michele, who played Berry, would have to play Fanny, the musical’s main character.
But she wasn’t cast – instead, Beanie Feldstein, a 29-year-old Jewish American actor got the role. That’s important because, as advocates quickly pointed out, Fanny was Jewish too, as is Streisand. But then the reviews began to come in, and, ouch. “The casting makes sense on paper,” The Guardian’s review went. “But this is a musical, one with some full-tilt belting, and her singing just isn’t up to par.”
So Feldstein can’t sing?
Feldstein has quite a high-pitched, soft voice. The music in the show? Big, loud. Not a great fit. And here’s the thing about musicals: they are expensive to produce, so for them to be a success at the box office, they either need to have a big star or be very, very good.
The reviews weren’t great, and while she’s been in other shows, Feldstein is no Barbra Streisand. So the show started bleeding money.
I can see where this is going.
Feldstein was fired. Wait, no she wasn’t, she quit. Wait, yes she was. No one really knows. All we know is that what started as a year-long contract became a six-month contract (which would have taken her to September), and then we heard that she would finish early, by July. On Sunday she posted a note saying the production had “decided to take the show in a different direction” and she decided to leave.
You know it’s big when the iPhone notes app comes out.
I’ll give you one guess for who’s set to replace her.
Not Lea Michele?!
Lea Michele. And that’s not the only Glee connection here. Jane Lynch (who played icon Sue Sylvester in the show) was also in Funny Girl, but announced she’d leave on September 4 – just two days before Michele is due to join the cast. Glee reunion averted.
It’s particularly funny because this series of events literally happened in season one of Glee. Lynch’s character walked out of Michele’s character’s performance of Don’t Rain on My Parade, the biggest and best song from Funny Girl.
So how do people feel about Lea Michele taking on this role?
Reactions have been mixed. While some are over the moon about Rachel Berry’s dreams finally coming true, former Glee cast members have previously spoken out against Michele, alleging bullying and racist behaviour on set.
Where does this leave the show?
In a series of unfortunate events, Feldstein also contracted COVID-19 and had to take time off to recover which meant her understudy, Julie Benko, has been performing a lot of the shows – to rave reviews. When Michele arrives, Benko will have one performance a week, a real step up for any understudy.
Tickets have already sold out for Michele’s first shows, starting from September 6 – but we’ll have to wait and see what the reviews say.
In the meantime, the saga has spawned some truly incredible memes. Because what is drama for, if not the content?
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