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SNL Meets Blt. Is Michaels Adapting McNally’s Memoir?

Looks like Lorne Michaels may have found his next prestige project — and this one comes with steak frites and a side of passive-aggressive Instagram feuding. Sources tell Rambling Reporter that the Saturday Night Live creator has optioned Keith McNally’s dishy new memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, which charts the legendary restaurateur’s rise, fall, stroke, suicide attempt, recovery and general disappointment with humanity. In other words, comedy gold.

McNally, of course, is the onetime Brasserie King of Manhattan — the man who, as The New York Times once put it, “invented downtown” with such ’80s and ’90s hotspots as Odeon and Balthazar. More recently, he’s drawn attention for his unfiltered Instagram account — a kind of running off-off-Broadway one-man show where he’s taken aim at everyone from James Corden (banned from Balthazar in 2022 for alleged omelet-related rudeness) to Jessica Seinfeld...

Fans have heard the horror stories of Gleefor decades. No one really knows what went on behind the scenes, but it all seemed messy. At the center of the series was the star, Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry throughout the show's six-season run. But the Ryan Murphy production was constantly swirling with rumors, and it led to an obsession for fans of the show. Now, ten years after Glee came to an end, Michele is talking about what filming the hit series was like.

Michele is currently preparing to go on tour after playing Fanny Brice in the Broadway production of Funny Girl, a literal plot point for her character on Glee. And in preparation for said tour, Michele did an interview with Jake Shane on his podcast, Therapuss with Jake Shane. There, the two talked about what ended up dividing the cast of Glee. During Season 5 of the series,...

Lea Michele has announced a run of special concerts taking place across the US and Canada this spring.

Kicking off on May 5th in Durham, North Carolina, the tour will see the Glee star showcase her vocal chops with a selection of songs celebrating different aspects of her career, from her time on Broadway to her time at Glee’s William McKinley High School.

Get Lea Michele Tickets Here

Tickets for the tour will first become available through an artist pre-sale offered to those subscribed to Michele’s newsletter (sign up here), which will open on Wednesday, March 12th. The general on-sale will then open via Ticketmaster on Friday March 14th at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Once tickets are on sale, fans can can look for deals or get tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform,...

Lea Michele is going on tour.

The Glee star is making eight stops across the United States and Canada for a series of intimate concerts this spring. Promising to take attendees “on a musical journey through Michele’s extraordinary career,” Michele will perform fan-favorite hits from her Glee days, a range of Broadway tunes — including from Funny Girl — and songs selected from her own discography.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 14 at 10 a.m. local time, but fans subscribed to Michele’s newsletter will have a chance to scoop early presale tickets on Wednesday,...

A Complete Unknown North America Box Office: 3rd Monday Update ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, and Elle Fanning starrer A Complete Unknown has not only been praised by the critics but is also performing well at the box office. As we write this article, it is beating the 1968 biographical musical film Funny Girl and 1984’s Amadeus. Keep scrolling for the deets.

The 1968 film by William Wyler was written by Isobel Lennart adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same name. It was loosely based on the life and career of comedienne Fanny Brice and her turbulent relationship with entrepreneur and gambler. The movie featured Barbra Streisand as Brice and Oman Sharif as Arnstein. The supporting cast included Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Allen, and Mae Questel.

Based on Box Office Mojo’s data, Barbra Streisand’s Funny Girl collected $52.22 million in its...

Eight years before Barbra Streisand appeared in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, she dazzled audiences in William Wyler’s Funny Girl with an awe-inspiring performance of intense vulnerability and carefully modulated broad humor that announced to the world that she was, much like her character, Fanny Brice, born to be a star. Released in 1968, several years after the death knell of the classic musical had been rung, Funny Girl endures—unlike other bloated, big budget musicals of the era like Camelot, Hello Dolly!, and Oliver!—precisely because of the strength of Streisand’s magnetic performance.

Whether flailing around on roller skates across the stage or triumphantly belting out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” as she recklessly flees her starring gig at the Ziegfeld Follies to meet her lover, Nick (Omar Sharif), Streisand’s Fanny is a woman possessed with ungodly charisma and talent. It was Brice’s singularly sly,...

In the near-century history of the Oscars, there have only been three occasions where an actress has won the Best Actress award for portraying historical queens. Movies where a female monarch from history is put front-and-center have been a popular avenue explored again and again by Hollywood for decades.

Over the years, Hollywood films retold the stories of Catherine the Great, Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Victoria, and more numerous times. And though this is a trend that the industry has yet to abandon, the list of actresses to receive the highest honor for that performance is considerably short. Interestingly, there have only been three times in Oscar history that an actress has won the Best Actress award for portraying a famous queen.

Katharine Hepburn Won An Oscar In 1968 For Portraying Eleanor Of Aquitaine Katharine Hepburn Starred In The Lion In Winter

In one of the best movies of her career,...

[Editor’s note: For this article, The Hollywood Reporter only looked at the shortest and longest screen times in the lead acting categories. Best supporting actor and actress were not included.]

Longest Screen Times Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (1939)

Movie Length 3 hrs 58 mins

Time Onscreen 2 hrs 23 mins

Percent of Run Time 60 Percent

Vivien Leigh holds the record for the longest performance to win an Oscar, though the work took a deep physical and mental toll on her. The film itself is also the longest to win best picture. At the 12th Academy Awards, Victor Fleming’s Gone With the Wind also won best supporting actress for Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African American to win an Oscar. Leigh was nominated alongside Bette Davis (Dark Victory), Irene Dunne (Love Affair), Greta Garbo (Ninotchka) and Greer Garson (Goodbye, Mr. Chips).

Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur (1959)

Movie Length 3 hrs 32 mins

Time Onscreen 2 hrs 1 min

Percent of Run Time 57.1 Percent...

The 2025 stamp designs are out! There are the usual boring sets — American vistas? More U.S. flags? Vibrant leaves? — but one announcement has set comedy hearts aflutter: a commemorative stamp featuring the late sitcom superstar Betty White. Score!

“An icon of American television, Betty White (1922–2021) shared her wit and warmth with viewers for seven decades — including roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” said the Usps in its announcement. “The comedic actor, who gained younger generations of fans as she entered her 90s, was also revered as a compassionate advocate for animals. Dale Stephanos created the digital illustration based on a 2010 photograph by Kwaku Alston. Greg Breeding, an art director for Usps, designed the stamp.”

In other words, Betty White was a badass.

White isn’t the first comedian honored by the Post Office, but she’s on a very short list. While you can’t...

In Cult Of Criterion, The A.V. Club highlights a new release from The Criterion Collection each month, examining the films entering an increasingly accessible film canon.

Funny Girl might sound a bit conventional to focus on for a series that has “cult” in its title, but compared to the rest...

Mimi Hines, the delightful Canadian-born actress, singer and comedian who stepped in for Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl, has died. She was 91.

Hines died Monday of natural causes at her home in Las Vegas, her friend and attorney Mark Sendroff told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hines was married to late actor-comic Phil Ford from 1954 until their 1972 divorce, and as “Ford and Hines,” they had a thriving nightclub act that was featured on variety/talk programs like Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show.

In her Broadway debut, Hines starred in Funny Girl from December 1965 through its final performance in July 1967. When she got the gig, she told The New York Times — who described her as a “mischievous sprite” — that she was not nervous.

“It’s always easier to follow a good actress than a bad one,” she said. “Miss Streisand is wonderful. [And] there is...

Barbra Streisand is getting into the music documentary game.

The singer, actress, director, producer and Egot winner has started production on a multipart documentary about her life and career directed by Frank Marshall and produced by Alex Gibney, the project’s creative team announced Thursday. The project aims to be an “intimate and comprehensive exploration of every facet of the iconic multi-hyphenate” with access to the Streisand’s own archival materials as well as footage of her work on current projects, the announcement stated.

The film will follow Streisand from her Brooklyn upbringing through her early career in New York nightclubs and acclaimed performance in the original Broadway musical Funny Girl, which later was adapted into the 1968 William Wyler film starring Streisand. Following her Oscar-winning turn as Fanny Brice in that film, Streisand starred in Hello, Dolly!, The Owl and the Pussycat, What’s Up, Doc? and A Star Is Born...

Move over Natalie Portman — there’s a new “Swan” coming to movie theaters this November.

The Paris Opera’s production of “Swan Lake” will come to movie theaters across the world on November 10 — but will screen in IMAX theaters November 8, because this is the first ballet ever filmed for IMAX.

The goal is to bring audiences as close to the dancers as possible as they navigate the classic ballet (this production uses the Rudolf Nureyev choreography). According to press notes, filming took four days, including two days without an audience, allowing the cameras to join the dancers onstage at the Paris Opera in an additional pas de deux. And for true balletomanes, this “Swan Lake” also uses next-generation IMAX precision sound.

Directed by Isabelle Julien, the “Swan Lake” cast includes Sae Eun Park as Odette/Odile, Paul Marque as Prince Siegfried, Pablo Legasa as Rothbart, and Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

Yentl.The publication of My Name Is Barbra, Barbra Streisand's 970-page memoir, has offered fans of the actress-singer-icon a long-awaited glimpse into her life. It’s a lot of book, a maximalist feast of details and anecdotes that paints a lavish portrait of the woman who became a generational star. It’s easy to forget just how much of Streisand's career was besieged by misogyny, whether it was critics' repeated derision of appearance or co-stars like Walter Matthau berating her on set. Streisand certainly never forgot, and her memoir offers frequent reminders of the sexism that hampered her path to success at every turn. Her memoir conveys an achingly detailed portrait of endurance by a wildly ambitious woman. Wherever she went, she was derided for trying to do or be “too much,” and she took pleasure in proving her detractors wrong in her inimitable style. When she chose to get behind the camera and direct,...

Lea Michele starred in the Funny Girl revival on Broadway, but she isn’t leading the national tour production that is traveling around the country right now.

The 37-year-old actress, who is pregnant with her second child, cradled her baby bump while walking the red carpet at the 2024 Hope Rising Benefit on Thursday night (April 4) at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

Lea was joined by Anna Wintour at the event.

One night earlier, the Funny Girl tour had its opening night performance in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Newcomer Katerina McCrimmon is leading the production and she got rave reviews and standing ovations for her work as Fanny Brice. “The best thing about Katerina McCrimmon’s dazzling performance is that she makes the character her own,” a review in the Los Angeles Times said, adding that she “brings the house down in Fanny’s poleaxing first-act numbers.

Leah Michele is pregnant with her second child. The Glee and Broadway star announced she is expecting again with a series of maternity photos posted to Instagram on Wednesday.

“Mommy, Daddy and Ever are overjoyed,” Michele wrote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lea Michele (@leamichele)

Michele married husband Zandy Reich in 2019. The couple welcomed their first child, son Ever, now 3 years old, in 2020.

Michele finished her final performance as Funny Girl‘s Fanny Brice — after replacing Beanie Feldstein in July 2022 — last September. The Broadway revival had initially debuted to mixed reviews, with many criticizing Feldstein’s performance. During Michele’s run, producers were reportedly able to recoup capitalization costs, according to The New York Times, with the show boasting almost 600 performances at the August Wilson Theatre in New York.

Michele received seven standing ovations during her final performance. “Thank you for all the love and support,...

As a teenager, Barbra Streisand dreamt of being an actress while sitting on her bed in Brooklyn with a pint of coffee ice cream and a movie magazine. During those days, after school she would make a break for New York’s Astor Theatre, which showed black-and-white international movies. Another time, she ducked into a showing of Guys and Dolls at the Loew’s Kings Theatre in her neighborhood.

“Everything was so beautiful up on that screen,” Streisand said in opening her acceptance speech upon receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award during Saturday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. “That make-believe world was much more pleasant than anything I was experiencing. I didn’t like reality. I wanted to be in the movies, even though I knew I didn’t look like the other women on the screen. My mother said, ‘you better learn to type,’ but I didn’t listen.

In a meditative and heartfelt speech, Barbra Streisand accepted the SAG Life Achievement Award on Saturday by paying tribute to the industry’s roots and extolling her abiding passion for the craft.

“For a couple of hours people could sit in a theater and escape their own troubles – what an idea! Moving pictures on a screen,” she said in remarks that followed a nearly 1-minute standing ovation as she took the stage.

“I can’t help but think back to the people who built this industry. Ironically, they were also escaping their own troubles,” she continued, in a contemplative but forceful tone. Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer and the four Warner Brothers “were all fleeing the prejudice they faced in Easter Europe, simply because of their religion. And they were dreamers, too, like all of us here tonight.

Film historians, critics and cineastes have heralded 1939 as the greatest year for Hollywood films. It was the year that saw the release of such classics as “Gone with the Wind,” “Stagecoach,” “Love Affair,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Young Mr. Lincoln” and “Wuthering Heights.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg

But what about Broadway? A case can be made for 1964, which saw the debuts of three musicals that became classics: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Funny Girl” and “Hello, Dolly!”

Broadway was changing in the 1960s. Oscar Hammerstein II died in 1960; Irving Berlin’s last show was the disappointing 1962 “Mr. President”; and Cole Porter, who died in 1964, hadn’t had a musical on Broadway since the 1950s. Sixty years ago, a group of young talented composers and lyricists were the toast of the Great White Way.

Like Jerry Herman. He was all of 30 when “Milk...

In 1964 Barbra Streisand became a star when she opened the original Broadway production of “Funny Girl” as real-life actress, singer and comedian Fanny Brice. Despite rave reviews, she ended up losing the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical to Carol Channing for “Hello, Dolly!” But in 1968 Babs made her motion picture debut in a film adaptation of “Funny Girl” directed by William Wyler, reprising her role as Fanny. She went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress (famously in a tie with Katharine Hepburn for “The Lion in Winter”). In 1970 Eileen Heckart was Tony nominated for her featured performance as Mrs. Baker in “Butterflies are Free,” but lost to her co-star Blythe Danner. But in 1972 Heckart reprised her role in a film adaptation, which won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

SEERay Richmond: Oprah discusses taking her ‘The Color Purple’ journey full circle following Thursday night world...

When Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” opened on Nov. 18, 1983, directing was very much a man’s world. In the 1970s, there had been a few inroads for women. Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated for best director for 1976’s “Seven Beauties” Stateside, actress Barbara Loden, who was married to Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed 1970 indie drama “Wanda,” which won best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. She never followed up with another movie and died of breast cancer in 1980.

There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...

Barbra Streisand is opening up about her incredible life.

The 81-year-old icon is releasing a memoir called My Name Is Barbra in November, and ahead of the book’s release, she spoke to Vanity Fair about her career.

During the discussion, she discussed the origin story behind her legendary stage fright, Lea Michele taking on Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway, the “Streisand Effect,” and so much more.

Find out what Barbra Streisand had to say…...

Joanna Merlin, whose acting career stretched from Broadway (she was the original Tzeitel in Fiddler On The Roof), film (she played the dance teacher Miss Berg in Alan Parker’s 1980 film Fame) and TV (Law & Order: SVU‘s Judge Lena Petrovsky on dozens of episodes) has died. She was 92.

Her death was announced on the Instagram page of the New York University Tisch Graduate Acting Program, where Merlin had been on the faculty since 1998.

“Joanna was an actress, master Chekhov teacher, and former casting director for Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Bernardo Bertolucci, and James Ivory,” the NYU message said, adding, “Joanna will be deeply missed at Grad Acting, by the Chekhov community, and by the many people she touched through her artistry.”

As a casting director, Merlin was involved in numerous landmark Broadway productions written by Stephen Sondheim. She was, for many years, Harold Prince’s go-to casting director.

A...

James Brolin on Wednesday clarified he was mistakenly referring to the 1973 film “The Way We Were” in an interview with Bill Maher in which he said his wife, Barbra Streisand, was working on redoing the ending.

“The Way We Were” is, in fact, being re-released Oct. 17 on Blu-ray for its 50th anniversary, not “Funny Girl.”

Brolin released a statement of clarification to TheWrap.

“To My Wife Barbra and all her fans,” the statement said. “Drinking tequila with Bill Maher on his ‘Club Random’ podcast recently, I mistakenly mentioned the wrong film. I meant to say my wife was working on ‘The Way We Were.‘ Apologies for all the confusion … Jim Brolin.”

Original story is below:

“Funny Girl,” the smash hit that cemented Barbra Streisand’s place in Hollywood at the ripe age of 26, ended with her protagonist, Fanny Brice, separating from her husband after he was released from prison.

Fifty-five years later,...

Update, with additional box office figures: Lea Michele treated the final-night audience of Broadway’s Funny Girl to an extra song Sunday, performing “My Man,” popularized by Fanny Brice in 1921 but not included in the musical’s original score.

Michele performed the song – omitting, as did Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film version, the infamous “he beats me too” introductory verse used by Brice and Billie Holiday – after Sunday’s curtain call. (Watch it below.)

After thanking the audience, cast and crew profusely, Michele said, “If you know me then you will know that this is the hardest song I’ve ever sung and I want to give it to you” just before launching into “My Man.”

Although she didn’t explain the “hardest song” reference, Glee fans will remember that Michele’s character Rachel Berry sang the song in a 2011 episode over a montage of the actor Cory Monteith’s Finn character.

Lea Michele ended her run as the star of Broadway’s Funny Girl on Sunday.

The actress had stepped into the role a year ago, replacing Beanie Feldstein, who had debuted in the title role of Fanny Brice earlier that year.

The revival had launched in April 2022 to mixed reviews, with many arguing that Feldstein failed to fill the big shoes left by Barbra Streisand, who originated the role on Broadway in 1964, earning a Tony nom, and subsequently won an Oscar for her performance in the 1968 film adaptation. Feldstein announced her departure in July 2022. Meanwhile, Tovah Feldshuh took over Jane Lynch’s role as Fanny’s mom.

With Michele on board, producers reportedly were able to recoup capitalization costs, according to The New York Times, with the show boasting almost 600 performances at the August Wilson Theatre in New York.

At Sunday’s show, Michele received seven standing ovations. She also...

Lea Michele made her Glee character proud on Sunday during her final Funny Girl performance.

Michele earned a standing ovation — by some accounts, her fifth of the afternoon — when she closed Sunday’s show with a surprise performance of “My Man,” the Barbra Streisand cover that was not part of the original Broadway production nor the revival, but was included in the 1968 film.

More from TVLineLea Michele to Take Her Final Funny Girl Bow, Says Fanny Brice Was an 'Exceptional Chapter of My Life'Glee Reunion: Heather Morris Honors Naya Rivera on the Picket Line - See PhotosIdina Menzel: Playing Lea...

Lea Michele, the star of Funny Girl, ends her stay today in the Broadway revival. She noted the milestone with an Instagram post that touted the show’s recoupment of its $16.5 million capitalization.

“For the past year, I’ve had the honor and privilege of playing the iconic Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on the August Wilson Stage,” she wrote. “An opportunity my younger self could have only dreamed of. And did.”

The musical opened in April 2022 at the August Wilson Theatre, starring Beanie Feldstein in the title role of Fanny Brice. Although fans initially showed great enthusiasm and ticket-buying, critics and Tony Award nominators found her performance lackluster, and the production soon saw a drop-off in sales. Feldstein made an unusually public leaving of the show, and was immediately replaced by producers with Glee star Lea Michele, who had her own strong fan base and who wowed critics. Box office receipts surged.

Lea Michele, the Glee grad who famously played Fanny Brice on the show-within-the-Fox show, today will take her final bow in Broadway’s Funny Girl revival.

In a farewell post on Instagram shared ahead of her last performance, Michele called Fanny “the role of a lifetime.”

More from TVLineLea Michele Ends Her Funny Girl Run With Surprise Performance of 'My Man' - Watch VideoGlee Reunion: Heather Morris Honors Naya Rivera on the Picket Line - See PhotosIdina Menzel: Playing Lea Michele's Glee Mom 'Wasn't Great for the Ego'

“For the past year, I’ve had the honor and...

Idina Menzel didn’t always love the idea of playing Lea Michele’s TV mom.

In a new interview recounting her time on Glee, the Tony Award winner reveals that she was conflicted when she got the call to play Shelby.

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“You’re worried you’re not going to work again, and then people hire you to be someone’s...

Funny Girl has recouped its capitalization costs on Broadway, producers said Monday.

The musical, which originally opened at the August Wilson Theatre in April 2022, was capitalized for $16.5 million. The production, starring Lea Michele, is set to close on Broadway on Sept. 3. A North American tour, starring Katerina McCrimmon, will follow.

The production started with Beanie Feldstein in the leading role, but after she received mixed reviews, grosses and attendance began to fall. Feldstein was then replaced with Michele, who had already performed several of the songs on Glee and thus was a draw for audience members. However, Michele had to fight back against allegations of on-set bullying while on the television show as well as the controversy of taking over the role from Feldstein. She came into the production on Sept. 6, 2022, and was well-received in the role, and the box office began trending upward. 

Since then, Funny Girl has set...

Funny Girl, the Broadway revival with one of the strangest casting histories in recent theatrical memory, has recouped its $16.5 million capitalization, producers announced today.

The musical opened in April 2022 at the August Wilson Theatre starring Beanie Feldstein in the title role of Fanny Brice, and although her fans initially showed great enthusiasm and ticket-buying, critics and Tony Award nominators found her performance lackluster and the production soon saw a drop-off in sales. Feldstein made an unusually public leaving of the show, and was immediately replaced by producers with Glee star Lea Michele, who had her own strong fan base and who wowed critics. Box office receipts surged.

In fact, the show began setting box office records at the Wilson, including in January 2023, when the show set a weekly record with a gross of $2,062,739, a record at the venue for an eight-performance week.

Other house records were set for the week...

So, here's what you missed on Glee. The show has been over for seven years, but it's still very present in pop culture, mainly because of how popular many of its former actors are. For example, Alex Newell just won a Tony; Dianna Agron had a movie out last month; and Lea Michele is killing it on the Broadway stage as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.

Lea Michele channeled her inner Rachel Berry at the 76th annual Tony Awards at the United Palace Theater on Sunday.

The 36-year-old wore a floral red and white dress to the event and later stunned everyone as she performed as Fanny Brice from Funny Girl at the awards ceremony and sang “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”

Like her Glee character, Rachel Berry, Michele has always been a big fan of Barbra Streisand, who first popularized the role of Fanny Brice. She took to Instagram to express her gratitude and happiness for her experience on Sunday.

“I thought a lot about what to say for this post. There’s so much to say. But the simple truth is that.. I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. An actual dream come true and an unbelievable honor to finally be Fanny Brice at the Tony Awards,” she wrote under her post.

Just when we thought Lea Michele‘s Funny Girl journey couldn’t get any more meta, along came the 2023 Tony Awards.

Sunday’s salute to Broadway included a special performance of “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” the iconic show-stopping number from the hit musical in which Michele currently stars. The big moment came just before the final award of the night was handed out.

More from TVLineRatings: Tony Awards Draw Best Audience Since 2019, Live Stream Hits HighTony Awards 2023: Some Like It Hot, Leopoldstadt and Kimberly Akimbo Win Big -- View Complete Winners ListTony Awards 2023: How to Stream...

Lea Michele has enjoyed monumental success since formally joining the cast of the Broadway hit Funny Girl in September 2022.

But while she’s earned praise for deftly portraying the coveted role of the beloved character Fanny Brice, there’s a simple reason why she’s not eligible for a Tony Award.

According to the Tony Awards’ rules and regulations under eligibility requirements, “in order to be eligible, an actor or actress must perform in the role on the production’s opening night and must perform in the minimum number of performances to which the producer of such production must invite and make tickets available to Tony voters as required by Rule 2(a)vi).”

And therein lies the issue — the original actress who performed Funny Girl on opening night was Beanie Feldstein, who left in the wake of the show being at risk of closing due to poor reviews and lackluster ticket sales.

Julie Benko, who has built a devoted following as the Funny Girl understudy and alternate Fanny Brice, will originate her first Broadway role this fall in the new musical Harmony by by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman.

Benko will play the role of Ruth, producers Ken Davenport, Sandi Moran and Garry Kief announced today. The production will begin previews at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre on Wednesday, October 18, ahead of an official opening night on Monday, November 13.

“It is rare to be offered the chance to be part of a Broadway show that resonates so deeply on both personal and political levels,” Benko said in a statement. “I’m so proud to be a part of Harmony and tremendously grateful to Barry, Bruce, Warren, Ken, and the entire team for entrusting me with Ruth’s story. I can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room with the brilliant company this Fall.

Lea Michele has tested positive for Covid again, and will be out of Broadway’s Funny Girl until Tuesday, May 23, the production announced today.

Julie Benko will play the role of Fanny Brice until Michele returns.

The positive Covid test is the second for Michele, who missed more than a week of shows last September for the same reason.

Despite Benko’s solid audience reviews, the production traditionally experiences steep declines at the box office whenever Michele is absent for vacations or other reasons. Since Michele took over the role from Beanie Feldstein last fall, Funny Girl has been one of Broadway’s highest-earners: Last week, the show grossed a strong $1,637,625.

Funny Girl closes on Broadway Sept. 3.

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A post shared by Funny Girl on Broadway (@funnygirlbwy)...

Lea Michele isn’t going anywhere!

Speaking with Variety Tuesday, Michele shared that her run on Broadway isn’t over when she wraps Funny Girl in September.

While she’s keeping tight-lipped on the details, Michele has already got another gig lined up.

“I already know what it is,” she teased to the outlet. “You know it.”

Careful not to give too much away, Michele did share that her next foray on Broadway will be “very different musically.”

The singer-actress, who last appeared on Broadway in 2006’s Spring Awakening, made her return to the stage in September when she replaced Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in the first revival of Funny Girl since Barbara Streisand helmed the role in 1964.

The musical follows Brice on her rise to fame and her turbulent relationship with gambler Nicky Arnstein.

While she’s not saying goodbye to Broadway just yet, Michele does have some...

Theatre fans around the world will be glued to their TVs, phones, and computers on Tuesday, May 2 as the 2023 Tony Award nominations will be revealed. stage and screen star Lea Michele, currently starring as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s “Funny Girl,” and last year’s winner of the Best Actor in a Musical Tony, “Mj” star Myles Frost will unveil this year’s noms. A handful of the nominees will be announced on CBS while all of the awards will be streamed on YouTube. You can check them out with a 5-Day Free Trial of Directv Stream.

How to Watch the 2023 Tony Award Nominations When: Tuesday, May 2 at 8:30 a.m. Et TV: CBS, YouTube Stream: Watch with a 5-Day Free Trial of Directv Stream. 5-Day Free Trial $74.99 / month directv.com/stream

Save $30 Over Your First Three Months of Directv Stream.

“CBS Mornings” will air the announcements for some of the bigger categories.

At the Time 100 Gala on Wednesday night, former child stars Ke Huy Quan and Drew Barrymore reunited after having not “seen each other in almost 40 years” to present Steven Spielberg with the event’s Impact Award.

“Steven introduced me to this world where his imagination lived and invited me in,” Quan said. “He showed me how much fun we can have when we let our creativity be our guide. My life has [been] made so much better because of him.”

In his acceptance speech, Spielberg reciprocated the affection he received from Quan and Barrymore.

“I have never been more proud in my working career than being able to find, in 1981, 6-year-old Drew Barrymore and, in early 1983, 11-year-old Ke,” the filmmaker said. “I was so lucky to find them both, and they have not changed in all those years.”

Along with Quan, Barrymore and Spielberg, the night’s honorees included Austin Butler,...

Jane Krakowski made her Broadway debut at 18 as Dinah in Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega-musical Starlight Express. Since then, she has appeared in numerous Broadway and West End musicals. She has won both a Tony and an Olivier award.

Krakowski got her start on television playing Elaine on Ally McBeal, but she is probably best known for her portrayal of Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock, which makes up four of her five Emmy nominations (the fifth being for her role as Jacqueline in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt).

Krakowski returns to the small screen as Bobby Flanagan, the fast-talking, hot-shot lawyer of Schmicago in Schmigadoon! Season 2.

We caught up with her at a recent press day to find out how she tackled her show-stopping number "Bells and Whistles," as well as her dream roles and hopes for the future.

This interview contains mild spoilers for Schmigadoon! Season 2 Episode 3. Go watch it!

Lea Michele is back at work. Amid her 2-year-old son, Ever’s, rehospitalization, the 36-year-old actress is starring as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s “Funny Girl” on Wednesday night, Et confirms.

The actress said that in-between shows, she ran “to give my baby a hug… It was quick but worth it,” she wrote via her Instagram Story. The update was accompanied by a heartwarming photo of her holding Ever.

Lea Michele/Instagram

Michele’s stage appearance comes the same day that she took to her Instagram Story to give a health update on her son.

“Today was a hard day. As parents, we have to be strong for our kids,” Michele, who shares her son with husband Zandy Reich, wrote. “But sometimes you just want to break down and cry (Hidden in the bathroom or closet is usually best. Today I chose the hospital bathroom).”

“These hard times show you...

Lea Michele‘s son, Ever, is back in the hospital again following an ongoing battle with what the Broadway star called “a scary health issue.” Michele took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, where she updated fans on this difficult time in her family’s life.

“Today was a hard day. As parents, we have to be strong for our kids,” Michele, who shares the 2-year-old with husband Zandy Reich, began. “But sometimes you just want to break down and cry (Hidden in the bathroom or closest is usually best. Today I chose the hospital bathroom).”

Sharing a photo of Ever, whose face was covered by a white heart emoji, in his crib, the 36-year-old Glee alum said these hard times have shown her what is truly important in life.

“These hard times show you truly what matters and what is important in life, and how much we have to be grateful for,...

Lea Michele‘s 2-year-old son, Ever, is on the mend. The 36-year-old Broadway star took to her Instagram Stories on Friday to share an update on her little boy’s condition as well as her return to her leading role as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.

“Thank you for all your well wishes this past week,” Michele captioned a photo of a sleeping Ever in his hospital bed. “We are taking our boy home from the hospital soon. Thank you to all the amazing doctors and hospital staff. I will be back to the @FunnyGirlBwy stage this weekend.”

Read More: Lea Michele Says She Reached Out To ‘Glee’ Co-Stars After Bullying Backlash

Michele shares Ever with husband Zandy Reich.

The update comes just two days after Michele initially posted that Ever had been admitted to the hospital “with a scary health issue.”

At the time, she apologized for having to miss performances of Funny Girl,...

Glee was wrong to cast Kevin McHale as Artie in the musical series, and the showrunners deserved the backlash they received. The 2009 comedy has received a lot of criticism for some of its storylines, and many fans of the show agree the series would never succeed today. The show made a lot of offensive jokes and had some inappropriate moments, like Mr. Schuester twerking with his students. The series has also faced criticism for not utilizing Amber Riley's talent and always pushing her to the background to allow Lea Michele to shine instead.

In recent years, there has been a lot of drama surrounding Michele, with former Glee cast members accusing her of being a bully. Many of these accusations came to light when the Glee actress was cast as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. However, aside from individual controversy, Glee is most talked about...

Lea Michele will be back as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl tomorrow after missing shows this week due to an unspecified health issue that required the hospitalization of her two-year-old son.

In an Instagram Story post today, Michele wrote, “Thank you for all your well wishes this past week. We are taking our boy home from the hospital soon. Thank you to all the amazing doctors and hospital staff. I will be back to the @FunnyGirlBwy stage this weekend.”

On Wednesday, Michele posted on Instagram that she would miss performances this week due to her son’s “scary health issue.”

“I’m so sorry but unfortunately I will be out of @FunnyGirlBwy today,” she wrote. “We are at the hospital with our son dealing with a scary health issue that I need to be here for.” Julie Benko filled in during Michele’s absence.

Michele and husband Zandy...

Lea Michele’s run as Fanny Brice on Funny Girl is coming to an end. The Broadway show announced that after extending its run, the cast’s final bow is set for Sept. 3.

A week after the final show on Broadway, the musical will embark on a U.S. tour stopping in 30 cities, though Michele will not join the cast on the road.

Michele made her debut as Fanny Brice on Sept. 6, 2022, after replacing Beanie Feldstein in the revival, which first premiered in April of last year. Feldstein pulled out...

Lea Michele's return to Broadway as Fanny Price in "Funny Girl" has been a major success, but fans may want to hurry and get their tickets to see the musical now because the show will have its final curtain call soon. According to Variety, the show's final performance will be held on Sept. 3, just under a year after Michele gave her debut performance as the character. The news follows the November 2022 release of a recorded album featuring Michele and her castmates, which the actor announced days before during the show's curtain call.

Audiences have been raving about Michele and the newly cast "Funny Girl" revival ever since the actor made her highly anticipated debut on Sept. 6, 2022. People reported that the actor's Fanny Brice portrayal received multiple standing ovations (at least four) - including one before she even said a word on stage - in Act I of the show.

Funny Girl, Broadway’s riches-to-rags-to-riches smash hit, will close on Sunday, Sept. 3, with stars Lea Michele, Ramin Karimloo, Jared Grimes and Tovah Feldshuh extending their planned runs to see the show through to its final date.

The announcement was made today by Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis and David Babani.

When Funny Girl plays its final performance at the aon Sept. 3, it will have played 599 performances and 30 previews.

The closing will mark the end of one of Broadway’s more tumultuous – and successful – productions of recent years. The first Broadway revival of the Jule Styne-Bob Merrill 1963 musical that made a star of Barbra Streisand (on both the stage and in the 1968 film adaptation) opened in April 2022 starring Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice and Jane Lynch as her mother. Though the revival initially proved popular with audiences and Feldstein fans, lukewarm (at best) reviews and a shut-out at the Tony Awards prompted...