NEW YORK — Hello, gorgeous.
After weeks of chaos and drama, Lea Michele opened her first night of “Funny Girl” to half a dozen standing ovations at the August Wilson Theatre Tuesday night.
The “Glee” alum took over as Fanny Brice for Beanie Feldstein, who left the Broadway production over plans to go in a “different direction,” she announced in July. Tovah Feldshuh has also replaced the revival’s original star Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s overbearing mother.
Among the cheering audience Tuesday was best friend Jonathan Groff, “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, Zachary Quinto, Drew Barrymore and Harvey Fierstein, who revised the book, according to Variety.
Michele’s return to the Broadway stage — she starred in “Spring Awakening” and had roles in “Les Misérables,” “Ragtime” and “Fiddler on the Roof” — has been both long-winded and messy as the 36-year-old Bronx native faced accusations of bullying and racism from former “Glee” co-stars.
But like her “Glee” character Rachel Berry, the Bronx native eventually rose to what many believe is her rightful place in Barbra Streisand’s footsteps, crooning classics like “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”
Before the curtain rose, though, Michele had one last job: getting her 2-year-old son, Ever, off to his first day of school.
“I cried as I tied your little shoes this morning,” she wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “I feel like just yesterday you were born. And now you have your first day of little school. I’m your mama before anything ever and I love you.”
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