Lea Michele, an actress and Broadway performer who starred in “Glee” as Rachel Berry, recently debuted as Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical “Funny Girl” on September 6th, 2022. Michele had already had a personal connection to the musical when she watched it and loved it in a time of stress, and this love made its way into her “Glee” storyline, which has now blossomed into a new opportunity for her to play this precious role. 

This announcement that she would be replacing Beanie Feldstein in the broadway production generated lots of attention, both negative and positive. Sophomore Justin Snay was excited for this performance from the get-go, due to his love for “Glee” as well as Michele’s talent.

“I first watched “Glee” when I was a little kid. I remember hearing the singing and the dancing and being amazed. “Glee” was probably the first thing that exposed me to show choir and theater, something I do now. Lea Michele is a wonderful singer, and she has such a powerful voice and can steal the stage. I think her performance was really good, and it was interesting to see her perform as Fanny in “Glee” and in real life,” Snay said.

Others were displeased to hear the news because of the controversy Michele faced in 2020 from her “Glee” co-star, Samantha Marie Ware, as well as others. It was stated that Michele made demeaning and dramatic comments often on set, as well as racist remarks, towards her.

Many others were excited about the performance though in terms of Michele’s singing and acting abilities. Junior Carissa Dawson is a huge fan of Michele’s broadway talent.

“Personally I think that woman could sing in “Veggie Tales” and I’d give her a Tony. I think that it’s ironic and I love it. I honestly don’t think at this point I could listen to anyone else sing “Don’t Rain On My Parade” and be content with it, so I’m happy it’s her playing Fanny,” Dawson said.

Junior Ivy Padilla also thinks very highly of Michele’s first performance in “Funny Girl.”

“I am very happy with Lea Michele’s performance. She knew coming into the show in the middle of its run that she was going to have to bring out her full potential, and that’s exactly what she did. She brings not only excitement when it’s needed but also knows how to make us sob with her heart-wrenching songs,” Padilla said.

With the recent announcement that Michele has caught COVID, she is to return to perform as Fanny on September 20th, and hopefully display more performances that are not only impressive but true to her character.