‘Funny Girl’ With Lea Michele Recoups $16.5 Million Capitalization
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor After one major cast change and a lot of off-stage drama, “Funny Girl” has recouped its $16.5 million capitalization, the producers of the Broadway revival announced on Monday.
At one point, that kind of news would have seemed very unlikely. When “Funny Girl” opened in April 2022 at the August Wilson Theatre, Beanie Feldstein had the starring role of Vaudeville legend Fanny Brice, a part that had originally been filled by Barbra Streisand.
Critics praised Feldstein’s comic chops, but largely felt she lacked the necessary vocal prowess to belt out the shows signature numbers like “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People.” After “Funny Girl” was shut out of most major Tony Award nominations, the box office sagged.
Enter Lea Michele, the “Glee” star who had performed many of those same numbers on both the show that made her famous and on the 2012 Tonys.
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