Confirmed: Lea Michele to lead Funny Girl on Broadway
Lea returns to Broadway
Last updated 11th Jul 2022
Lea Michele who is best known for her portrayal of Rachel Berry on Glee will return to Broadway this September to play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.
Lea joins the cast on 6th September alongside Tovah Feldshuh who joins the cast as Mrs. Brice.
Starting as a child actress, Lea's Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Fiddler on the Roof and Spring Awakening. On TV she played the role of Rachel Berry in Glee which actually featured a storyline where Rachel played Fanny Brice on Broadway.
This revival of Funny Girl is the first time the musical has been on Broadway since the original 1964 production which starred Barbra Streisand in the leading role.
The casting announcement follows news that current Fanny Brice, Beanie Feldstein will depart the production earlier than planned with her final performance on 31st July.
In a social media Beanie said: ‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated.’
Funny Girl is based on the life and career of Broadway star Fanny Brice, it has music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and a book by Isobel Lennart. The current Broadway revival is directed by Michael Mayer and features a revised book by Harvey Fierstein.
Alongside Beanie, the current cast includes Ramin Karimloo as Nick Arnstein, Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice (until 25th September) and Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan. The production is running at the August Wilson Theatre in New York through until April 2023.
Check out the musicals opening in the UK in 2022:
The Osmonds: A New Musical
A new jukebox musical based on the story of the Osmond Brothers is touring the UK and Ireland. With a story by Jay Osmond, The Osmonds: A New Musical kicked off off their tour at the Curve Theatre in Leicester on 3rd February 2022.
We Will Rock You
The hit musical packed with the music of Queen is coming back for its 20th anniversary. We Will Rock You is touring the UK once again with Ben Elton back in the director's chair. The tour began on 7th February 2022 at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth and is heading to 27 venues across the country before culminating with a residency at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
The hit jukebox musical celebrating the career of singer/songwriter Carole King is back in this new production of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical which heads is on a UK tour.
The tour is a co-production from Leicester's Curve, Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Mayflower Theatre Southampton and began performances on 28th February at the Curve Theatre.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World
The stage adaptation of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is on tour once again, they began with Liverpool on 25th March.
Anything Goes
Anything Goes has set sail for another voyage with a some brand new faces! The musical went on a UK tour and is now in the middle of another summer run at London's Barbican Centre until 3rd September.
The Cher Show
The Broadway musical based on the one and only Cher is has come to the UK for a national tour. The Cher Show kicked off its tour at the Curve Theatre in Leicester on 15th April 2022.
Grease
A brand new production of Grease is running in the West End in 2022! The new production is directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips and is running at the Dominion Theatre.
Girl From the North Country
With music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, Girl From the North Country returns to the UK as part of an international tour. The tour visited the 3Olympia in Dublin for five weeks from 25th June 2022 before visiting cities and towns across the UK.
Bugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone is on its first professional UK tour. The show opened at the Theatre Royal Bath on 2nd July 2022, the Birmingham Rep from 27th July 2022 and then will go onto further venues across the UK.
Crazy For You
Charlie Stemp stars in a new revival of the George and Ira Gershwin's Crazy For You which runs at the Chichester Festival Theatre until 4th September 2022.
Whistle Down the Wind
A new revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind runs at the Watermill theatre until 10th September 2022.
Kinky Boots
The first UK revival of Kinky Boots will run at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich from 1st to 24th September 2022 before the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch from 28th September to 22 October 2022.
Mrs Doubtfire
Based on the iconic film which starred Robin Williams, the musical adaptation of Mrs Doubtfire will get its UK premiere at the Manchester Opera House where it runs from 2nd September 2022.
The Color Purple
Leicester's Curve theatre and the Birmingham Hippodrome's award-wining production of The Color Purple is heading on a UK tour for the first time visiting venues in England and Wales. The tour begins on 13th September 2022.
South Pacific
The Chichester Festival Theatre production of South Pacific has returned in 2022. Following runs in Manchester and London the production heads on a UK and Ireland tour beginning on 13th September.
Sister Act
Sandra Marvin leads the touring productionof Sister Act which will open on 20th September 2022.
My Fair Lady
Following its run in the West End, the critically acclaimed Lincoln Center production of My Fair Lady heads on tour from 22nd September.
The Famous Five: A New Musical
A new musical adaptation of Enid Blyton's The Famous Five will have its world premiere later this year. It will run at Theatr Clwyd from 23rd September to 15th October and then from 21st October to 12th November at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
The Time Traveller's Wife: The Musical
A musical adaptation of The Time Traveller's Wife will premiere at the Storyhouse, Chester with a two week run from 30th September. The show will then be transferring to the West End with full details still to be announced.
The Choir of Man
The Choir of Man are returning for another run at the Arts Theatre. The show which includes covers of some of the greatest pop songs and a working bar has just finished a run at the Edinburgh Fringe and will be back in London from 1st October.
Tammy Faye
A new musical based on the true story of Tammy Faye will run at the Almeida Theatre from 13th October until 3rd December 2022 at the Almeida Theatre.
The musical features music by Elton John, lyrics by Jake Shears and a book by James Graham.
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
The stage version of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is finally getting its UK premiere at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre from 1st November 2022.
Disney's Newsies
A brand new production of Disney's Newsies will run from 28th November at the Troubadour Theatre in Wembley, London. It will be the first professional production to run in the UK and will be opening a decade after the show opened on Broadway
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill, the musical based on Alanis Morissette's album of the same name recently ran on Broadway and now is hoping to transfer to the West End this autumn.
Elf
The musical adaptation of Elf makes another trip to the Dominion theatre for the 2022 Christmas season. Elf will run from 14th November 2022 until 7th January 2023.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The sweetest Roald Dahl musical is making a return this year with a new production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory running at the Leeds Playhouse from 18th November 2022 to 19th January 2023. The musical then heads on a UK tour in the new year.
Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol
Dolly Parton's take on a Christmas classic, Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol opens at the the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 8th December 2022 and runs until 9th January 2023.
Broken Wings
The musical adaption of Kahlil Gibran's poetic novel Broken Wings is heads to the Charing Cross Theatre opened on 11th February 2022. The show has been adapted for the stage by Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan and ran until 26th March 2022.
But I'm a Cheerleader: The Musical
After being discovered at MTFestUK 2019, a new musical adaption of the cult classic But I'm a Cheerleader ran at the Turbine Theatre in London until 8th May 2022.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
A revival of the hit LGBTQ+ musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is on its way. The production is co-produced by the Leeds Playhouse and HOME Manchester and will star RuPaul's Drag Race UK finalist Divina De Campo in the titular role. The production ran at the Leeds Playhouse from 2nd to 23rd April 2022 and then at HOME in Manchester from 27th April to 11th May 2022.
Bonnie & Clyde
After a hugely successful concert, Bonnie & Clyde ran at the Arts Theatre for a limited run. Will the show be back? We sure hope so!
Passion
A revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion ran at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. The musical starred Ruthie Henshall as Fosca.
LIFT
Set in Covent Garden tube station's Lift, a new production of LIFT ran at the Southwark Playhouse from 13th May to 18th June 2022.
Legally Blonde
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre kicked off their 2022 season - which celebrates their 90th anniversary - with a brand new production of Legally Blonde. The musical was directed by Six co-creator Lucy Moss and ran from 13th May to 2nd July 2022.
Billy Elliot
This summer, the Curve Theatre in Leicester produced the first new UK production of Billy Elliot since its original West End run. The show is based on the 2000 film of the same name and has music by Elton John and ran until Saturday 20th August 2022.
Singin' in the Rain
After a successful run at Sadler's Wells Theatre in the summer of 2021, the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Singin' in the Rain is back once again as they go on tour in 2022. The tour began on 17th March 2022 at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. The tour will finish at the end of August 2022.
101 Dalmatians
A new musical adaptation of Dodie Smith's 1956 children's novel 101 Dalmatians is running at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. The musical has music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge and a book by Johnny McKnight and ran until 28th August 2022.
Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life)
The bio-historical musical comedy about Yeast - yes, Yeast - set at the dawn of life itself had its European premiere at the Southwark Playhouse running until 27th August 2022.
The musical is written by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann and is a prequel to their other musical, Urinetown.
Read more:
Back To The Future the Musical reveal new cast members
& Juliet confirms Broadway transfer this autumn