Twitter Raves Lea Michele's Opening Night Performance in Funny Girl

If you've been online at all over the past couple of months, I'm sure you've heard the rumors that Lea Michele can't read. Her alleged illiteracy has not gotten in the way of her success, as she's finally snagged the lead role in the Broadway musical Funny Girl.

Her road to the role has not been easy. She is most well-known for starring as Rachel Berry in Glee, where she regularly performed songs from Funny Girl. During the final season of the series, Rachel Berry stars in the fictional first Broadway production of Funny Girl since Barbara Streisand originated the role. When the actual Broadway revival was announced in 2021 with Beanie Feldstein in the titular role, the conversation turned to how Lea Michele must be so angry she wasn't cast in the role. These speculations had some merit, as Lea is known for her diva behavior towards people she works with. When Beanie opened the show this past spring, she got middling and downright critical reviews, with the press commenting on how she couldn't properly sing the part. The producers set out to replace Feldstein with none other than Lea Michele, and that's exactly what they did. This stunt casting was the last ditch effort for the Funny Girl producers to save a show that has been on edge of closure for months.

Last night, Lea Michele debuted the role of Fanny Brice to much praise. At least for now, all seems to be good at the August Wilson theatre. The devoted fans in the audience last night gave us plebs who could not afford $2000 theatre tickets all of the juicy details of Lea's opening night. Spoiler alert: the illiteracy rumors did not go unnoticed.

Posted by Emmy Ward