Lea Michele has officially snagged her dream role.
The actress has been cast as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway, replacing Beanie Feldstein. She'll join the musical beginning Sept. 6, with Tovah Feldshuh also taking over the role of Mrs. Brice from Jane Lynch.
Michele has long been open about her interest in starring in Funny Girl, so much so that when Feldstein was cast in the new Broadway revival instead, Michele's name began trending on Twitter. There was even a storyline on Glee in which Michele's character, Rachel Berry, is cast in Funny Girl on Broadway, and she performed many of the songs during the series.
When the Funny Girl revival opened in April, Feldstein's performance received mixed reviews, quickly prompting speculation that Michele could replace her. "In song after song, Feldstein's voice lets her down," Vulture said. By June, it was announced that Feldstein would leave the show in September.
But on Sunday, Feldstein revealed she would instead leave on July 31st, two months earlier than expected. The Booksmart star said she made the "extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated" after "the production decided to take the show in a different direction," though further details weren't given.
"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," she said.
Michele previously called Feldstein an "incredible choice" for the role.
