NEW YORK — Beanie Feldstein is taking an early bow.
The 29-year-old actress announced late Sunday that she’s leaving her starring role in “Funny Girl” on Broadway at the end of the month, the second time she’s moved up the end of her run.
“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. Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Funny Girl,” a revival of the 1960s Barbra Streisand musical, opened to mixed reviews in late April at the August Wilson Theatre. Feldstein and co-star Jane Lynch were initially expected to stay on for the rest of the year, but announced last month that they would leave on Sept. 25.
“I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew,” Feldstein added in her Instagram post. “The people I have had the great joy of bringing Funny Girl to life with every night, both on and off the stage, are all remarkably talented and exceptional humans and I hope you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st.”
Feldstein did not go into any specifics about the show’s new direction and a representative for the production did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News Monday.
The show teased a casting announcement for Monday amid swirling rumors that “Glee” alum Lea Michele will step into the iconic role of Fanny Brice. Michele, who recently returned to the stage at the Tonys for a “Spring Awakening” reunion, has long dreamed of leading “Funny Girl,” to the point that “Glee” wrote it into her character as well.
Feldstein, the sister of actor Jonah Hill, is best known for starring roles in “Booksmart” and “Lady Bird,” as well as playing Monica Lewinsky in Ryan Murphy’s “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” She made her Broadway debut in 2017 as Minnie Fay in “Hello, Dolly!” alongside Bette Midler.
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