In the past few weeks, Lea Michele's casting at "Funny Girl" has been a focal point of Broadway and Theatre drama, reigniting past issues and fanning new ones.
Since the announcement of the revival of "Funny Girl" in Broadway, Lea Michele's name has come up almost instantly, publicly campaigning for the role since her "Glee" days.
To everyone's surprise, Beanie Feldstein was cast on it, but was eventually "lynched" due to the overwhelmingly negative reviews of her performance. Lea Michele was then confirmed to replace Beanie, to everyone's amazement (and some dismay).
Turns out, Lea Michele was still not actually the first pick to replace Beanie - it was Lady Gaga!
Lady Gaga Offered the Role of Fanny Brice on Broadway Revival of 'Funny Girl'
According to a Rolling Stone interview with Broadway junkie Sweaty Oracle AKA Jonathan Lewis, Fanny Brice could have been Lady Gaga.
In an explosive podcast episode on Rolling Stone's "Don't Let This Flop" Lewis detailed how the role was supposed to be for Lady Gaga. He went on to describe that "Funny Girl" was "cursed."
Asked what led to her shocking description of the well-loved show, Lewis revealed that it started when the producers did not wait for Lady Gaga, who was offered the role, to give out her final schedule.
"This production originally, they reached out to Gaga and they were never gonna give her enough money to star in this production. Look at what the set looks like. They don't have anything close to Gaga money," he elaborated.
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He also went on to recall that Idina Menzel was also in talks to play Fanny, but nothing materialized. Then came Beanie's casting announcement.
Per Lewis, the moment that the producer cast Feldstein, it is almost like they shot themselves in the foot. He also went on how Beanie, who received mostly negative reviews on her performance, did not deserve a third of the backlash she had, even mentioning that Sutton Foster was miscast for "The Music Man" but he did not see any threads about it.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga's rehearsals and then performance as Funny Girl would have gone against her "Chromatica Ball" Tour, in which she capped off the final performance last Saturday in Miami.
Julie Benko is filling in for Lea Michele in "Funny Girl," who has been in recovery after contracting COVID-19 last week.
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