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Beanie Feldstein is a 'funny girl' no more. The Impeachment star is officially bowing out early of the role of Fanny Brice on Broadway's Funny Girl.
Feldstein brought the role of Fanny to life on Broadway in April 2022, receiving mixed reviews for her performance. However, after just three months in the role, Feldstein announced she will be leaving the musical for good.
Her exit may come as a bit of a surprise to theatre-goers, considering it has come prematurely.
Newsweek has everything you need to know about Feldstein's departure from the Broadway stage.
Why Is Beanie Feldstein Leaving Funny Girl?
On Sunday, July 10, Beanie Feldstein took to Instagram to share she would be leaving Funny Girl this Summer.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Feldstein said playing Fanny Brice on Broadway was a "lifelong dream."
She also suggested her reason for departing was because the show was going in a "different direction" writing "Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated."
Feldstein's statement on Instagram reads: "Playing Fanny Brice on Broadway has been a lifelong dream of mine, and doing so for the last few months has been a great joy and true honor.
"Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction. I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated. I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew.
"The people I have had the great joy of bringing Funny Girl to life with every night, both on and off the stage, are all remarkably talented and exceptional humans I hope you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st."
When Is Beanie Feldstein Leaving Funny Girl?
Beanie Feldstein's last appearance in Broadway's Funny Girl will be on Sunday, July 31.
Her exit comes two months premature. She was originally scheduled to vacate the role on Sunday, September 25.
Feldstein is not the only cast member leaving the show. It was previously announced that Glee star Jane Lynch, who plays Fanny's mother, would be leaving the show on September 25, Feldstein's original leaving date.
Who Is Replacing Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl?
At the moment, Funny Girl Broadway has not announced who exactly will be replacing Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl.
However, official social media accounts for Funny Girl have teased "casting announcements" which will be made at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, July 11.
Of course, Feldstein's understudy Julie Benko is a firm favorite to take over the role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway and it a lot of fans of the musical absolutely support this choice.
One fan tweeted: "saw beanie feldstein's understudy in funny girl on broadway last night and holy nutbags that julie benko is a flat-out STAR."
saw beanie feldstein’s understudy in funny girl on broadway last night and holy nutbags that julie benko is a flat-out STAR ? pic.twitter.com/zTL8kBuT3J
— ???? ??????? ??????? (@MrErikJackson) May 22, 2022
A second fan of Benko's commented: "When Beanie Feldstein departs from funny girl, they better let Julie Benko or I'm throwing hands."
When Beanie Feldstein departs from funny girl, they better let Julie Benko or I’m throwing hands ?
— Samantha Biggs (@sami_biggs) July 11, 2022
A third fan tweeted: "Having seen Julie Benko in Funny Girl, i think it's pretty clear that she can carry the show wonderfully."
Having seen Julie Benko in Funny Girl, i think it’s pretty clear that she can carry the show wonderfully.
— acab (@wherbkat) July 11, 2022
However, Glee star Lea Michele is also a likely choice.
Her character, Rachel in Glee even auditioned for the role in the show's fourth season. Michele has also been linked to the musical in the past when Glee co-creator and Impeachement creator Ryan Murphy obtained the rights for the musical revival in 2015. He later lost them.
One fan tweeted: "Okay, ahead of tomorrow's Funny Girl announcement:
The Best Outcome: Rachel Bloom
Best Realistic Outcome: Julie Benko
Most Realistic Outcome: Lea Michele
Funniest Outcome: Trisha Paytas"
Okay, ahead of tomorrow’s Funny Girl announcement:
— Michael (@Haircut_Mike) July 11, 2022
The Best Outcome: Rachel Bloom
Best Realistic Outcome: Julie Benko
Most Realistic Outcome: Lea Michele
Funniest Outcome: Trisha Paytas
A second Funny Girl fan joked: "The announcement for Funny Girl is happening soon:
Who should get the role: Julie Benko
Who will kill for this role: Lea Michele
Who will actually get the role: James Corden
Also, Beanie is awesome and I hope she is moving on to bigger and better things."
The announcement for Funny Girl is happening soon:
— Katie Lemelin (@KatieLemelin) July 11, 2022
Who should get the role: Julie Benko
Who will kill for this role: Lea Michele
Who will actually get the role: James Corden
Also, Beanie is awesome and I hope she is moving on to bigger and better things.
A third fan commented: "The anticipation of knowing whether Lea Michele is going to replace Beanie in funny girl is tooooo muchhhhhh - tell me nowwwww"
The anticipation of knowing whether Lea Michele is going to replace Beanie in funny girl is tooooo muchhhhhh - tell me nowwwww
— charlie nicole (@charlayyx) July 11, 2022
Whoever joins the cast of Funny Girl, will be joining a star-studded cast including Ramin Karimloo, Jared Grimes, and Jane Lynch.
You can purchase tickets now for Funny Girl via Funnygirlonbroadway.com
About the writer
Molli Mitchell is a Senior SEO TV and Film Newsweek Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on ... Read more