Lea Michele and Barbra Streisand.Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty
Barbra Streisanddidn’t seeLea Micheletake on hericonicFunny Girlrole.
Though she didn’t catch Michele’s performance, she told the outlet, “I’m happy for her.”
On closing night, Michelewroteon Instagram, “Thank you for all the love and support. This was truly the most extraordinary year and chapter of my life. Icannot wait for what’s next.” In anotherpost, she shared the “greatest love and appreciation for everyone who came to see @funnygirlbwy this past year.”
Streisand played Fanny Brice on Broadway in 1964, then later in a 1968 film adaptation, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress (in a tie with Katharine Hepburn forThe Lion in Winter).
Lea Michele in “Funny Girl”.Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
While on theLate Show with Seth Meyersin December, Michele said she “finally heard from Barbra” andreceived a letter from the actress.
“It was very sweet, she wrote me this beautiful letter,” Michele said at the time. “But one thing she said in it… She was like, ‘It’s really wonderful when your dreams come true, isn’t it?’ And I just, like, fell to my knees, and I called [Gleeco-creator]Ryan Murphy, my mom,Jonathan Groffand [Funny Girldirector] Michael Mayer.”
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Lea Michele at the Tony Awards on June 11, 2023.Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Earlier this year, Murphy, 57, wrote about seeing Michele inFunny Girlin atribute to the actress forTime’s100 Most Influential People of 2023.
“Funny Girlis my favorite musical of all time, and for over a decade I flirted with reviving it on Broadway. Ultimately, I couldn’t commit for one reason: the long shadow of Barbra Streisand, who originated the role of Fanny Brice,” he wrote. “I was afraid of it. Lea Michele wasn’t afraid.”
Added Murphy of Michele, “She had done the impossible: made Fanny her own, to great critical and commercial acclaim. Older, wiser, stronger, Lea interjected the classic with a new burst of modernity and something singular.”
source: people.com
