Lea Michele has weathered the storm and is finally enjoying her parade.
The Glee star made her debut in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl on Sept. 6, the culmination of a dramatic, headline-generating 13-year journey to taking the stage as comedian Fanny Brice. "A dream come true is an understatement," Michele wrote on Instagram of landing the role, which was originated by her idol, Barbra Streisand, in 1964.
And it someone was taking a spill, it wasn't the 36-year-old, who brought the house down, with an eyewitness telling E! News that Michele earned four standing ovations during the first act alone. "The applause and cheering have been nonstop since Lea first came on stage," the attendee said. "The audience was losing their minds at pretty much anything Lea did."
The rapturous response to Michele's return to Broadway comes after months of speculation about a rumored feud between the actress and her predecessor Beanie Feldstein, who left the revival sooner than expected in July, in addition to resurfaced allegations about her conduct on the set of Glee.
When Feldstein's casting was announced last August, it was Michele who became a trending topic on Twitter, thanks to her close ties to the role since performing "Don't Rain on My Parade" on Glee in 2009, singing it on the show's live tour before bringing down the house with her rendition at the 2010 Tony Awards.
Her character on the Fox hit series, the ambitious Rachel Berry, was a Streisand stan, often modeling her look and career on the legendary performer and never missing a chance to belt one of the musical's songs. During the show's run, Rachel sang "Who Are You Now," "My Man," and "People," and, in the final season, achieved her dream of playing Fanny Brice in a Broadway revival.
So it seemed all but set in stone that real life would imitate art when it was announced that Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy had snagged the rights to Funny Girl in 2014 with the intention of staging a revival.
"[Lea] and I have made no mistake of our mutual love for that property," Murphy told Entertainment Weekly at the time, "so if it could come together at a time that she'd be willing to make that commitment to go back to Broadway, it would have to be the right director and the right leading man."
The following year, however, Murphy revealed he was no longer attached to the project, explaining at EW Fest, "We [did] so many of those songs and so many of those scenes [on Glee] that in a weird way, I feel like we did it."
Still, Michele was determined to play Fanny, even performing nine songs from Funny Girl during the 2017 Elsie Fest concert in Central Park. So, not exactly an audition, but it was an admission from Michele that she was ready to return to Broadway.
"I was like, 'Okay,' I'm ready to do it,'" she said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live at the time. "It's a lot of work and it would be an honor to do it. But if I'm going to go back, that's what I'd really like to do."
Before she could to the stage, however, Michele found herself at the center of controversy in June 2020 when she was accused of allegations about her conduct amongst Glee co-stars.
Samantha Ware accused Michele of making her time on the show "a living hell," detailing "traumatic microaggressions" she received from the Scream Queens actress. Dabier, another performer who appeared on Glee, and Spring Awakening actor Gerard Canonico also shared their thoughts on her professional behavior.
At the time, Michele issued an apology on Instagram, stating, "I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people."
As Michele stepped out of the spotlight for what she described to The New York Times in September as "intense time of reflection," and become a mother—she welcomed son Ever with her husband Zandy Reich in August 2020—Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer was working to bringing bring Funny Girl back to Broadway for the first time since the original production. And, given that Mayer directed Michele in Spring Awakening, the hit musical that launched her career, speculation ran rampant that Michele would finally get to play Fanny.
But when the project was officially confirmed in August 2021, Mayer announced that Feldstein, who had previously made her Broadway debut in the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly!, was his leading lady.
"This was someone you could really connect with," Mayer told the New York Times of Feldstein. "She's funny and smart and self-deprecating."
Like Michele, Feldstein long envisioned playing Fanny Brice, writing on Instagram at the time, "i went to my third birthday party dressed as fanny brice so sometimes dreams actually come true." While Michele commented on the post, "Yes! YOU are the greatest star! This is going to be epic," Feldstein told Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show, "I don't know the woman whatsoever." Theater Twitter, naturally, was enthralled.
Michele recently shot down any rumors of a feud when she revealed she actually went to see Feldstein during her reduced run as Fanny and thought she was hilarious and beautiful and so wonderful."
As for any alleged tension, Michele told People, "I think that everybody thinks everything is so drama-filled. I also think that people really love the excitement of pitting women against each other, which I think is really sad and unfortunate."
Still, faux-feud generated by the Internet aside, the months leading up to Feldstein's April debut was drama-free, with the theater world more intrigued to see how the 29-year-old would do in the iconic role. But, when the reviews came in, they were less than favorable. The New York Times described Feldstein as "not stupendous," while The Hollywood Reporter said she "struggles to locate the raw vulnerability of Fanny."
So, when Feldstein unexpectedly announced her decision to depart the production earlier than expected, it wasn't actually surprising, even if raised eyebrows when the Booksmart star wrote in her July 10 Instagram post that "production decided to take the show in a different direction."
Immediately, speculation ran rampant that Michele would finally be tapped to play Fanny, and, on July 11, it was hello gorgeous, take two, when it was officially announced that she would, in fact, take over the leading role.
Of course, the news did not come without its own bit of backstage drama as Michele's former Glee co-star Jane Lynch, who played Mrs. Brice in the revival, announced she would also be exiting the show earlier than anticipated, wrapping up her run before Michele's debut. But Lynch, who was replaced by Tovah Feldshuh, set the record straight about her relationship with Michele.
"We have been in touch about it," Lynch told Deadline in July. "You know, it was just a really strong idea to have Feldshuh and Lea premiere together. That's the only reason [we won't appear together.]"
She continued, "I adore her. She's just going to take this show and make it her own. I'm so glad she's getting the opportunity in real life to do the show and not just on Glee."
As Michele's debut date approached, the star shared glimpses from rehearsals on social media and told The New York Times that she was focused on being "a leader" for the entire production, both on and off the stage.
"I really understand the importance and value now of being a leader," she shared. "It means not only going and doing a good job when the camera's rolling, but also when it's not. And that wasn't always the most important thing for me."
On Sept. 6, 13 years after she first performed "Don't Rain on My Parade" on Glee, Michele finally took the stage as Fanny Brice, with Murphy, Drew Barrymore, Zachary Quinto and her Spring Awakening co-star and best friend Jonathan Groff in the audience.
E!'s eyewitness said that it was "phenomenal" to see Michele work her magic "in such an iconic and perfectly fitting role."
So right now, for the actress it really seems like life's candy and the sun's a bowl of butter.