“Lea Michele tore”: Here’s what folks are saying about the star’s ‘Funny Girl’ debut
Funny Girl.Stepping into Barbra Streisand’s shoes to play Fanny Brice—a role she’s seemingly been preparing for most of her professional career—Michele reportedly received six standing ovations throughout her premiere performance at The August Wilson Theatre.The first of those came as soon as she sauntered onto stage, before she could even utter the musical’s iconic opening line: “Hello, gorgeous!”Related: 5 celebrities who totally won’t be at Lea Michele’s ‘Funny Girl’ premiereThis moment’s been a long time coming for Michele, who made her Broadway debut in a production of Les Misérables and later originated the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening.
The actress is best known for FOX’s hit musical dramedy Glee, playing the tenacious Rachel Berry who, in the show’s fifth season, goes on to star in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
Life imitates art.Of course, the road to get her back to The Great White Way has been filled with enough drama for a TV series of its own.
In 2020, Michele was met with a storm of criticism and allegations for her “diva behavior,” which came to a head when Samantha Marie Ware (who had a recurring arc on Glee’s sixth season) famously accused her of “traumatic microaggressions” as well as other threatening and demeaning behavior.Things haven’t exactly been a breeze for the Funny Girl revival either.
