Ya'll. We're only a little over $1,000 away from completing our Level 2 goal to get WitW a new recording and editing studio! Don't believe me? Check it out and get some really cool theatre memorabilia: www.tinyurl.com/witwallornothing Also! We're not discussing Beanie Feldstein's dad allegedly being a producer on the show in this video because I've yet to find any solid proof confirming or denying this.
Great video! Just FYI, Funny Girl's website currently lists Lea as playing seven shows a week (not six), with Benko only performing regularly on Thursday evenings, beginning in September.
What if he is, who cares? Ben Pratt’s family are mega producers, does that affect the work he does on Broadway? Why not also investigate in their relations with Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk-both starred in their shows? Hmmmmmmmm.
The fact that Jane Lynch is also planning to leave the show earlier than planned and just days before the date Lea is planned to debut in the show gives me very 👀 😬vibes. I have a feeling that all of this drama is nowhere close to being finished yet…
For whatever it is worth Jane Lynch claims she loves Lea and that the decision to not overlap is so that the new Fanny and the new Mom of Fanny start together.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 Actors almost never burn their bridges publicly. She wouldn't want to cause MORE problems for the show on the way out. Having her and Lea Michele onstage together would have been great marketing, so there's just no way it's a total coincidence.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 jane was the most respected actor on glee, lea tends to only be a nightmare towards people she thinks she's better than, I'm assuming for that reason lea and Jane never had any issues
@@devildham I think a lot of people think that Jane absolutely wouldn't have pubically burned her bridges so she quietly left to avoid any working or contact with Lea professionally with this show. Just because you're not targetted by the toxic person doesn't mean you want to work with them again (or want to be associated with them, which I personally bet was the case. There was bound to be a lot more drama coming & Jane got out of dodge)
@@themeltedchocolate in my experience with working with toxic, very competitive, young people they def target the people who are 'threats' the most but highly respect/"respect"/kiss up to people above them. It would have served her well professionally to have that good relationship with Jane Lynch and be respected by her...but Jane's been around for awhile, she's no dummy and I'm guessing if Lea was toxic to work with, even if she wasn't targetted she definitely saw what was going on.
Beanie definitely didn't deserve the body shaming and attacks. The reaction to her performance from the internet was absolutely overblown and extra. That said, if the producers wanted to do right by plus size representation they should've found a girl with vocals that fit . It's plenty big girls with big vocals out there.
I did find it strange that they were like "oh well we had to find a Jewish girl who could sing, act, and dance". I'm like...it's New York dude...there are plenty of those...
Beanie doesn't have the vocal chops for the part and that's a fact, but her acting seems perfectly alright and I personally thought it was a great idea to cast plus size actress in this part. Like you said, they should've just found a plus size actress who could sing the part. But I've seen so many people jump to call others fatphobic for criticizing beanie's performance, this is such a tricky situation, there are valid reasons to criticize her, her weight isn't one of them, but it's so easy for people to turn around and act like that's what you're criticizing her for
The producers are the real failures here. First they failed to see how putting an actress with passable vocal skill into a notoriously strenuous role could backfire. Then they supported the narrative that Beanie, a person they CHOSE to hire, was the only problem with their underwhelming production. And finally they gamble their employees' wellbeing by hiring someone notorious for not playing nice with others (Yes, people can change for the better. But they are still taking a big risk.).
@@langleymneely I appreciate you pointing out the other cast members. It's one thing to hire someone notoriously hard to work with, it's another to hire them midway through a production. I doubt everyone in the revival had the career options to just bail, and one consequence of the change is *none of them knew before signing up*. I couldn't say for sure it would've changed anyone's decisions, but there isn't really a way to know because of the catch-22 the production team handed them. It genuinely makes me wonder if the switcheroo was semi-intentional. At the very least, Lea's reputation was a factor in them not casting her to begin with, and swapping later is NOT a good look in that context.
It pains me what’s going down with Lea. Her reputation is awful and if half the allegations about her are facts she had it coming, BUT. I simply cannot get over the fact that it’s been a DECADE since that behavior. I bet we can all agree we are by no means the same people we used to be 10 years ago. I’m not speaking for her, I’m just stating my point. She’s a mother, she has had a lot of karma recently due of actions she maybe didn’t remember or at least didn’t want to. If I were her I wouldn’t go out and be awful once again, with so much people rooting for me to get cancelled. Let her redeem herself already. Life is about mercy and letting people get second chances.
@@juandiegofreireflorez3680 You don't have to compromise other peoples working environment just to give someone a "chance at redemption." By the same token, 10 years is a long time full of chances to demonstrate growth and make amends - in other words she has HAD the opportunity to redeem herself. Funny Girl is an opportunity to rehab her PR. No one is owed that. No one is required to just ASSUME a person has improved themselves; it's gotta be based in actual evidence and efforts to make amends. I have BEEN in situations where I tried assuming the best of people who've been awful to me - it's not a safe assumption for anyone who actually then has to be around the person.
The whole point of funny girl is telling the story of a woman who doesn't meet the beauty standards succeed because of her tenacity and talent... The irony of this whole situation is sickening.
There is nothing ironic about it. Beanie did not succeed in this case because unlike Fanny, she lacked the talent to carry the show. You are confusing her looks with her talent.
@@aiai-j7i if it's only about her talent, why did so many people comment on her weight or say she doesn't "look the part" even though she plays a woman who didn't fit the beauty standards of the time? the focus on her appearance is the ironic part, obviously
It’s not ironic in the least. Feldstein was criticised for being an underwhelming performing. Also, she’s played the role, time hasn’t been rewound to remove it from her. She wanted the job and she got it. The fact that they decided to go in a different direction after her departure only means the show wasn’t working and they are want to keep it open by trying to cast someone more in line with public opinion on how the role should be cast. Feldstein hadn’t lost out on anything, wounded pride and public humiliation yes but that’s par for the course.
I genuinely feel bad for Beanie. This was a project she cared for since she was a kid and to have it end up this way must have hurt. I really wish her the best.
@@GitanAnimex she probably didn't totally cut off her father, however she would feel the need to protect herself. All the other circumstances and actions she took are warranted
@@WhatShallEyeDo4U its all speculation even this video whe don't know what happend exactly but honestly i don't think his father a producer of the play she was the lead would play her bad usually is the other way
I'm probably gonna get a LOT of hate for this take but... I feel "Funny Girl" went in a "different direction" WAY back in its original production when they casted Barbra. Now don't get me wrong I love Barbra and I like the show, but watching it, I got the sense that this was less of a story about Fanny Brice and more a showcase of Barbra's talents. After watching a few Fanny Brice videos, Beanie Feldstein just looks and sounds like a more accurate portrayal of Fanny Brice. Fanny wasn't the strongest singer either, but it was her comedic abilities and overall stage presence that really sold herself as a performer. And yes absolutely Barbara is HILARIOUS! But Critics seemed to focus more on her vocals not being "fit" for the role, while also ignoring Beanie's acting and skill for comedy, and the only reason they feel that way is because they kept comparing her vocals to Barbra's. Now to me I think all this comparison completely overshadows WHO exactly this show is about. This show is about FANNY not BARBRA, so saying that Beanie doesn't fit a role that was never meant to be a Barbra Streisand impression in the first place is not only dishonest, but it's a bit of a slap in the face to Fanny Brice's name and story.
Honestly, until I read this comment, I had no idea Fanny Brice was a real person. (I’ve never seen or listened to Funny Girl, I’ve just heard a lot about it) and it think thats quite telling on how much this show hasn’t really been about being true to her, so most people probably have no idea if any portrayal is more or less accurate to the real person
that is good point. i know nothing about theatre, but it seems to me that critics were comparing Beanie to Barbara, while they should be comparing Beanie to Fanny.
While the show is about fanny and you're absolutely correct that fanny herself wasn't the strongest singer. The music written for this show requires someone who is able to belt out high notes and unfortunatly not many can do that .
@@kassinwonderland22 but thats the whole point I’m making is that the reason why the show is for a belty mezzo is because they made it for Barbra. That’s fine, but if I’m going to be honest, the critics don’t really care who fits the character of Fanny and more about who can sing like Barbara and I just think that’s not fair to integrity of Fanny Brice’s character
the fatphobia in the theatre and film industry is so baked in and I know several people who would tell you straight up that that's why they left or were EXPLICITLY TOLD to leave the industry. I hope Beanie is ok.
It's flat out bizarre to me that it's 2022 and literally most of our country is not skinny and still there is still so much fatphobia associated with film and theatre! We don't want to see skinny bitches everywhere, yet the trolls in the comments win every time. Beanie is honestly not even that big!
Okay I didn’t know whether to vote up or down because I entirely agree with you but I was like I don’t want tip put a thumbs up next to some seriously disgusting news about people being fired based on their weight. I think we should just stop giving any validity to their “fears” as they are genuinely irrational. Just because the female bodies that have historically dominate the stage and screen are based on what Hollywood or fashion deemed “in” do you remembers heroine chic? Then take a look through your memory and bring to mind every male actor who would wear a size Large, see how many you can list. Do the same thing for female actors who would fit best in a regular size L pair of leggings. Name them out loud. As many as you can, if you’re not finding many try including musicians. Now remove the ones who are using self deprecating humor to be the butt of jokes that they didn’t write. Now think of only the serious actors, ones who are a size L of over. My list is painfully short. But not to be only doom and gloom I did get to keep Lizzo, she’s not self deprecating, she’s empowered and importing. She’s also one of a kind talented and genuine. So why do we still let the loudest most annoying voices impact how we think? This is other peoples fears. And I’m done giving it a title other than calling all of these gendered expectations on others because what they forget how to bees when they see two men kiss or a plus size woman walks past them? Okay so these Phobics have ideas around what should be under their control when it comes to women, not just the rights but the size of the female person requires in order to be to deemed appropriate for representation in social media. -But is so they really represent the Broadway going crowds? I would strongly disagree starting with tbr fans, but by the time it’s just about money- sex sells. Sex appeal is currency. But this switch? We went from genuine charm and character to a genuinely mentally unstable human being, and I say that as someone who grew up loving Glee. I mean mostly for the queer characters, but, any representation can be amazing when it was previously not on main stream tv in prime time. I truly feel bad for Lea for the human suffering, but it’s pretty clear she’s always been playing the villain in her own story - to quote crazy ex gf and get Rachel Bloom in here, another Jewish belting beauty who might prefer the fit of large tights. And what I thought would be a poor misrepresentation of mental health turned into an phenomenal, heartfelt and moving story which, while being playful and funny, shows Rebecca to be a badass lawyer who SPOILER -chooses herself. And all while performing every kind of dance and parody song you always knew you wanted, Rebecca is pursued by gorgeous men. And it’s not weird she’s amazing she’s gorgeous and initial skinny rival becomes her friend and they support each other, all of the women in the show do. And from everything I’ve heard or read she’s Rachel is great to work with, doesn’t abuse people with hate speech, and is actually funny and good at both taking and giving direction, working with everyone on set, not against them. I’m naive to think Lea was just kind of over now due to her behavior, but honestly if she continues to act that way this show won’t be the right kind of funny.
Mama Cass was the biggest star from the 60s + Melissa McCarthy is the highest paid actress in Hollywood. If they have the talent, that's all that matters. Beanie is a spoiled nepotism baby, glad she got the boot.
If there's one good thing to come from this Mess of a revival, it's that a Brilliant Understudy has gotten the chance to Shine in an Extremely competitive environment. Julie Benko's rendition of Fanny Brice deserves all the Praise she's been recieving.
She was right for the acting part, she nailed that, it's just people need to face the fact that only Barbara can sing like Barbara and as the songs were specially written for her to showcase her talents every other singer is pushing shit up hill to try to get close.
The fact that I had no idea that Fanny Brice was a real person and thought that she was a character originated by Streisand tells me everything, honestly. It sounds like an incredibly interesting comedian has been overshadowed later on by a bombastic singer, and while I know the point of a musical is the music... This just feels slimy.
I don't know I feel like without the musical there is a lot less people who have an opportunity to know and learn about the real life Fanny Brice than with the musical even if Barbra Streisand has a bigger name and celebrity recognition to us today. It's not really the musicals fault that vaudeville is a niche piece of history that most people aren't going to have an immediate recall of either, it's more like history overshadowing her rather than a bombastic singer doing so.
Love Beanie in the part or hate her in it, there is NO excuse for people putting Beanie down for mistakes made by the Funny Girl creative and producing team that failed her, the show itself, and the fans. Is one of these mistakes casting her in the first place? Yes. It is. They knew before hand that she was going to be held up against both Barbra AND Lea. They should have seen that it was not going to be a good fit for the insanely too high expectations set on this revival. People were not looking for a true to the real Fanny Brice performance (which is 100% what Beanie is giving and giving well), they were looking for the next Barbara moment. This was known before hand and yet they still went in this direction and when, shocker, it didn't go the way they had hoped, they failed to get behind their star and support her through all the hate and bullying she was getting. They just dumped her. Who knows, perhaps if they had gotten a DIFFERENT replacement for her, things would have spiraled to this point of madness we are in now but the fact that it's a known bully.... it feels so high school, doesn't it? The pretty girl popular bully gets her way even through everyone knows she is a horrible person but she's rich and pretty so she gets her way. Meanwhile, the bullied different girl gets knocked down even further than she already has been.
Can you please stop. I get your point. She was miscast but she was dumped because she simply doesn’t have the vocal ability to carry the score. Also, Just because Lea was horrible in the past doesn’t meant she still is. Grow up and give others a chance to grow from their mistakes as well. She was really young when she got in the business and now she’s a grown woman, a mother and she is fully aware of her mistakes. She already suffered enough cancelling don’t you think? Or do you think she should continue to suffer forever for what she did. Lea is a better singer. Period. That’s why she’s replacing beanie not because she’s pretty or whatever
I heard she only got the role due to nepotism, so I do blame her in part for that. She should have known better. She should have known they were other actresses and singers more capable of taking that role, especially when it comes to the singing, which is a huge part of Fanny.
@@delrey874 better singer worst coworker/star. doesnt matter how talented ya are. if ya have a rep of being a terrible person to work with no one will hire ya or if they do no one will keep ya around long and try to force ya to quit or in show business never hire ya again. happens in every industry.
I think the best outcome is that Lea Michele behaves herself and doesn't simply do a Streisand impersonation. And Beanie gets cast in a role that's a huge success for her. Because these producers threw her under the bus.
@@guyritchie7504 Not true. And all you have to do is watch the film of "Funny Girl' and then watch either Glee or Michele's performance on the Tony's of "Don't Rain on My Parade" - total Streisand rip-off, nothing original.
I have just returned from a NYC trip where I saw 4 shows. With all the negative attention on Funny Girl, it was lower on my list; However, a Covid cast outbreak in a different show I was supposed to see freed me up to see Beanie Feldstein in the Funny Girl matinee on the same day she announced her earlier departure (Sunday). All the people around me shared the same initial concern before the show began. Several of us (who got last-minute tickets) had seriously upgraded seats designated by the usher (I'm sure not a good indicator). Nonetheless... The show was fabulous! Every aspect was great. The staging was impressive, the comedic timing was great, the chemistry between Beanie and Ramim was good, Beanie's vocals were wonderful, and her dancing was great. Jane was fabulous too. The audience gave multiple applauses mid-show and a resounding much-deserved standing ovation at the end. I don't know if it was due to changes because of all the criticism over the past several months or if it was simply the criticism was too harsh comparing Beanie to a freak prodigy (Streisand) - to which how many Streisand-calibre stars have there been in the past 50+ years?!!? Even Idina Menzel's performance at the Kennedy Awards to Barbra herself (while incredible) was not quite Barbra'esque. Beanie should not be compared to anyone! Allow Beanie to tell the story of Fanny Brice - the actual protagonist in this true-life story, not try and retell Barbra's caricature of Fanny. I feel so bad for Beanie! She doesn't deserve any of this!
@@JD-ht7yw I have no problem with nepotism in an art context. The checks and balance takes place at the box office. Why not produce a show for one’s child if they are capable of doing so? The audience has spoken
@@atdomb The audience has spoken and they have said 'no'! It's an unfair system in any situation and circumstance and it obviously bombs most things as it did in this case. Because. had their parent not been there, they would not have the talent to get the role. And your statement that Funny Girl is about a comedian and not a singer-comedian, do you say the same thing about George Washington in Hamilton?? George Washington wasn't a singer? Bitch, this is broadway
I get the impression Beanie truly loved Fanny Brice, but I can absolutely see Lea wanting to be Streisand. She was introduced to the role via Glee, had all the big shots excited about her singing the song and being connected with it and probably soaked up all that love as a young actress. Honestly I can see what Ryan Murphy meant though, people mostly loved her singing the bit hit and had seen it many times...but I can't really see her for the rest of the role tho. Esp not for a prolonged Broadway 6 show a week run. She has the name and that's about it, stunt casting at its finest.
@@12345678abracadabra ya, years ago, but she has said Funny Girl was the only show that could bring her back to broadway. It's not the dream, she's just feels very entitled to that one role.
I was deeply underwhelmed by the very idea of this revival. “Funny Girl” is indeed a weak book, with a few memorable songs that were written expressly to showcase Streisand’s vocal strengths and are therefore entirely associated with her. This was a deeply unnecessary project. On the other hand, anything that gives more stage time to Ramin Karimloo has something going for it.
I was in a production of the show back in ... holy cow, it was 40 years ago! Anyway, it was pretty obvious to me even back then that this show was sorely lacking.
right? some chud in these comments is harping on her for being " lazy " not showing up to shows with covid- uh maybe her mental health and self esteem took a massive blow when ppl told her she was too big to sing and crack jokes
@@Gonk yea but no one wants Lea Michele’s racist annoying ass back on broadway, it just shows that at the end of the day the pretty popular bully gets her own way, wish something bad would happen to her smh
@@kenjako Morally it does but financially it doesn't because he just explained bringing in that bully will generate buzz and ppl are paying lots of money to see this problematic star perform again in a long time. She might be worse than Beanie who knows. People will still pay to see her even if she's good or bad, since people love to hate her. I believe that she was and may still be a bully who knows and that sucks but Ryan Murphy keeps bringing her back, why?
Reminder that the line “she may be difficult but boy can she sing” was written by Ryan Murphy to praise Lea Michele’s ‘character’ Rachel Berry who was horrible to everyone and still worshipped because of her talent. Ryan Murphy was one of the only people who worked with Lea Michele before this because she is so famously horrible to work with. People now CONSTANTLY throwing out that line to defend Lea’s insanely well documented bullying has made me roll my eyes right out of my head.
@@piranha5506That is idiotic, what's the point of being qualified if your behavior isn't qualified to work with other people? Bringing in a person who got (in)famous for her horrible behavior would only make the quality of the project decay since she's not the only participant in it
A friend of mine made his Broadway debut with this production and it sucks to see his and other performers' debuts overshadowed by all of the controversy surrounding Beanie's departure and Lea Michele's casting.
I wonder if casting Lea will end up being good news for your friend and the rest of the cast. The show was tanking. This might give it new life and will certainly bring more eyes to see your friend and the rest of the cast/ give their work a chance to be enjoyed by more. I think the cast will, in time, appreciate their show having a leading lady who can really belt.
Your friend’s debut has not been overshadowed. They will be getting the same amount of public attention as they would have otherwise. The general public aren’t buying tickets to see friend
I just wish that the team doesn't suffer much more due to Lea Michele's attitude. Doing a broadway show, many nights a week, is very taxing and it's not rare that it leads to very stressful moments, you need to create a decent space for everybody.
I'd venture with all the controversy and the beating her reputation has taken, she'll be on her best behavior... THIS time. It's the next project she does after this that will be the really interesting one.
@@Eviltwin531 Yeah. She would be dumb to show her true colors right now with the whole world watching. Whatever project she does after FG will give us a better idea if she's changed or not.
Apparently they will be rehearsing separately; Tova Feldshuh with the company as normal, but Lea Michele separate from everyone. I hope there is a clause that protects the cast from mistreatment.
@@Eviltwin531 If she really is as bad as people say I'd bet she'd last a month before going back to her old ways. A month is long enough to feel comfortable in her new surroundings, and if the show is well received then she'll see herself as the hero who "saved" the show and therefore deserves to do what she wants.
My takeaway from all this: there were legitimate reasons to criticize Feldstein's performance, none of which had to do with her weight. The fact that a lot of online discourse focused on Feldstein being plus-sized and criticizing Broadway's "wokeness" is both sickening and utterly unsurprising. That said, I feel like a lot of the "controversy" could have been avoided if Julie Benko had just taken on the role full time after Feldstein left. Not only was her performance praised, but- as far as I know- she doesn't have a reputation for being toxic and difficult to work with like Lea Michele does.
Hopefully Beanie is in a good place. She needs all the support from her loved ones now cause it's inevitable to not be affected by all that online hatred
Her family had influence so she could get the part according to NYC gossip. That's the most cruel part of all if true. There comes a time when you must save loved ones from humiliation
Never ever thought I'd see Glee make headlines year later. Let alone an actual plot line on Glee becoming reality lmao. Life is truly stranger than fiction.
I must say the legend of how horrible Lea Michele is as a person and professional is fascinating! The entire thing feels like a 21st century version of the Patti Lupone/Andrew Lloyd Webber Sunset Blvrd debacle! (Whichi learned about from watching you!). Can’t wait to watch this!❤️👍🏾
I've seen it compared to the casting drama for On the Twientieth Century, where the female lead missed a large number of performances and had stamina issues before leaving. In that case, though, it was the gifted understudy who ultimately took over the role. Not... this.
In a way, yeah, but patti and Andrew's beef was only between them and the producers, none of whom spent their entire careers treating everybody they ever worked with like shit
The fact that you had Julie Benko right there and you go with the Diva who has a history of abusing her cast and crew is like... I do not understand. And no, you don't get to use her talent or her singing as a defense. I am not going to accept that as an excuse.
They're doing it for ticket sales, unfortunately. I saw Julie way back when she was in the Spring Awakening tour. She was just in the ensemble, but she was lovely. I feel like if they had marketed it the right way, they could have done a whole "understudy promoted, star in the making, Broadway baby" type thing.
She isn't the only person in Hollywood who is vicious towards others and she won't be the last. She has the reputation of being an asshole, but she has the musical vocal chops that sells tickets.
@@mistybrehmer9551 lol what? Watch her live performances. If you want a recent one, watch her performance of My Man. She's Broadway-trained and starred in a hit Broadway show. Like, you can hate her for anything else but she is an extraordinary singer.
All drama aside I just wanted to say how excited I am for Tovah Feldshuh. I’ve always seen her as one of the great underrated performers of theater. She’s so talented and absolutely deserves this opportunity.
yesss! i only just recently discovered her because i started watching crazy ex girlfriend and then the casting came out- i’m excited to see what she’ll do!
I was lucky to attend the first preview in April. At first I felt underwhelmed by her singing, but then I realized that I was comparing her to Babs. Beanie is not Babs nor trying to imitate her. Beanie is her own person with her own sets of skills and talents. I personally enjoyed her performance and she killed her acting in this show. NGL, I wanted to go to the first preview to feel validated. I too, as a plus sized performer wants to see more representation on the stage, and not in the way that it has been in the past. I was so excited when Beanie was announced and full disclosure, I teared up when we first see her on that stage. It just disaaponts me as a fellow fan that theater geek that we try to promote and encourage inclusivity and diversity but the second it goes sour, people turn to body-shaming and fatphobia in order to justify their feelings. Personally, I'm glad I saw it when I did. I will not see it again. Considering what I see from the community, I give the show until the new year.
Wouldn't you want to see a plus sized performer because she was perfect for the role and talented at that? Or would you prefer representation, full stop?
So kids, the moral of the story is it's totally fine to be horrible, abusive and cruel as long as you don't commit the cardinal sin of being overweight. And also, understudies are the goat.
@@donnieptymcio She never owned up to her abuse/racism, and there's no evidence that it's stopped. So yeah, we should absolutely cast that bitch out.
@@donnieptymcio Yes. It's bullshit to keep taking abuse from someone over and over. You are not owed anything if you can't even exhibit the most basic of civil behavior.
@@donnieptymcio if you’re referring to Michelle, this isn’t a one off for her. She has over a decade of documented abuse towards anyone she works with. She has no respect or concern for others. It’s not that she did something horrible once, it’s who she is as a person. Forgiveness and second chances should come to those who have not demonstrated any real change in their inexcusable behavior.
As a plus size person. I’m so tired of seeing other plus size women being dragged to hell and back bc of their weight. It’s exhausting. I love beanie and I feel so sorry she had to go through this.
So producers decided to go a different direction and brought in Lea Michele and the box office skyrocketed. I’m sure that is the first time ever on Broadway that has happened. Also, it’s been nine years since Glee left the air. Lea Michele is 37 married and has a child. Are we still acting like she is literally the same person from nine years ago. Social media holds the longest deepest grudges. Was Lea supposed to decline the chance to play a role she had wanted to play much of her life? 🤷🏼♂️
I believe, firmly, that Beanie Feldstein achieved so much in this role. It's not an easy one to act or to sing, and she acted the hell out of it. By all accounts that I've read and from the bootlegs I've seen, her stage presence and characterization was wonderful. It's just that she wasn't (quite) up to the songs. They are hell to sing and the show rises and falls on its lead. It's named Funny Girl for a reason. Did she fail? Nope. She achieved a lot of great things in this show and just because the box office wasn't there, doesn't mean she failed. Many factors are at played here, not the least of which are her absences, some of them *planned* absences. Word of mouth was okay and for a show this size, it needs to be INCREDIBLE. It is a horrible truth in theater that sometime talent alone is not enough. Beanie is supremely talented, but is unknown. Hopefully that will change and that he star power will only rise. It will be interesting to analye her career three or four years down the line.
Fanny Brice was real person. So is this play about her, or about Barbra Streisand ? Because if it is later, I struggle to see what is so interesting about this play. I mean if all what people want see is good singing in Barbra Streisand style, maybe they should make musical about Barbra Streisand.
Ugh, they would have been fine if they just gave the lead to Julie Benko from the start. She is amazing in the role. It's much more exciting to watch someone *become* a star on Broadway, especially when they deserve it.
I agree. I know I'm old, but I never heard of Beanie Feldstein prior to the Funny Girl casting. I think they overestimated her ability to sell tickets long term, and it didn't take long for word to get out that she was grossly miscast.
@@mshalo1822 That seems to be the case. And I can't help but look at Broadway producers to be just as money-hungry as the producers in big Hollywood. It was all at the expense of Beanie and Julie, the way I see it.
Couldn’t agree with you more! I saw Julie and she was phenomenal. She deserves the role but unfortunately doesn’t have the name recognition the producers want to book tickets - BUT, just wait, she will!
You touched on something that I feel is a core issue with ANY Funny Girl revival-----the pure and simple fact that Jule Styne wrote Fanny's part specifically for one of the greatest voices EVER---Barbra Streisand--and that is an impossibly huge Cadillac for any other singer to kick uphill, as it were. Added to this impossibilty, the show's book is fundamentally flawed, only partly because the original writers had to rearrange or just plain leave out so much of Fanny's life story. One, and only one, example is that in real life, Fanny had already been married and divorced once by the time she met Nick Arnstein, so she was no t the blushing ingenue the show makes her out to be. Also, Fanny's real life was kind of short on happy endings---even in the original, Nick leaves and divorces Fanny at the end. Funny Girl should have been left as a Broadway one-of, a flawed show that really only worked as a showcase for a legend on the rise. Literally no one wants to see more of Lea Michelle impersonating Barbra Streisand. Kill the lights, strike the sets, take down the marquee, and let's all move on before any more money gets wasted. Also also, lemme get this right----over $2000 to see Lea Michelle re-hash her best moments on Glee?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 bye flop.
Well I’ve seen two excellent revivals of Funny Girl over the years: first at Chichester Festival Theatre in England with the funny/moving actress Samantha Spiro and then in Paris with Christina Bianco in 2019 at the Theatre Marigny. I didn’t care for the West End revival which the current Broadway production is based on with its revised book by Harvey Fierstein.
Streisand was NOT unknown in 1964: she had already appeared on broadway, and had released her first LP. Also, the score was written long before she was cast as Fanny. She had also gotten the Drama Critic's Circle award and a Tony nomination before "Funny Girl" for her first broadway show "I Can Get it for You Wholesale."
My heart breaks for Beanie, honestly. It really bothers me that not much people know of Lea's abusive behaviour. Im from Argentina, and local musical theatre outlets really fall short of properly communicating Broadway news and controversies. They very much celebrated "Rachel from Glee replacing some unknown plus size actress". Anyway, this was an excellent video as always. Your channel is one of my favourites on youtube!! Thank you for everything.
I feel so bad for Beanie, it just feels like she wasn't supported enough during all of this. I do hope that maybe after the public shaming that Lea's changed for the better, guess we'll find out because it seems like this show is as well documented as could be that one bad moment on her part will be shared in seconds.
Even if she didn't changed. At least fake it until she makes it. And by that I mean being nominated for a Tony and winning it for this role. She needs to play nice because this is the age of social media and people always spill the tea.
How? How was she not supported? The producers stood by her throughout and then be decided to leave her contract early to tank the show because the was the potential humiliation of being replaced by someone better
@@bigred8432not better. Just more famous and prettier. Lea Michele is a bitchy, spoiled, narcissistic, person who throws tantrums whenever she isn't the center of attention
Beanie deserved better than all those hateful comments. A lot of the criticism feels rooted in fatphobia. It's disgusting and exhausting, I feel so bad for her.
Not being able to perform in the role has nothing to do with her girth. I am in many online Broadway appreciation groups, and I never saw any negativity posted about Beanie's weight, only her inability to perform.
@@vickimanager Exactly! I would feel horrible if people felt such pity for me based on how I looked. She is a talented actress, no doubt, but she simply was not up to leading a role that required singing.
It’s so weird to me that Lea is seen as a shoe in for Funny Girl just because she sang a few of the shows songs in Glee. Glee and Funny Girl are two completely different productions, in two completely different mediums. The comedy is completely different, and yes Lea can do satirical, OTT comedy like Glee but I genuinely don’t think she can pull off genuine, charismatic, self deprecating, heartbreaking, quick comedy like Funny Girl.
@@MsDefectiveToaster i don’t know the comedy of the funny girl musical, but in glee and scream queens Lea Michele is often extremely funny. She’s not funny in the way the above commenter describes though so I think it’s a valid concern.
Lea isn't only seen as a 'shoe in' for funny girl because she sang a few of the shows songs in glee, it's because at this current time, she is one of the few people who have the vocal abilities to be compared to Barbra. She can perform the whole funny girl score, and extremely well unlike Beanie who apparently struggles with 'the music that makes me dance' as well as 'who are you now' (from reviews ive seen).
I really appreciate a facts based breakdown with actual investigative practices! It honestly feels like a long time since I’ve seen someone deliver their own news on popular culture, it’s mostly all recycling and writers room jokes. But this felt like a return to investigative journalism, maintaining the cadence of an article read, but with more nuanced tone and interaction with the visual aids. Seriously great!
FYI: The songs were written over a year or more BEFORE Streisand got the part. They wanted Eydie Gorme, but she wouldn't do it without her husband (Steve Lawrence) as Nicky Arnstein. They even offered the part to Carol Burnett, who turned it down because she said they needed a Jewish girl for the part. Streisand was at least the 5th actress who was in line for the part. (from Wikipedia)
Im a huge fan of Beanie and think she is such a gifted actress and this has been so heartbreaking. I want women like her to be celebrated and the public’s reaction to her has been so disappointing
Beanie shouldn't have accepted the role. If she'd been able to sing it properly without sounding like a cut-rate high school production cast member, everything would have gone just fine.
@@Gobble_de_Goop she’s a great singer and actress. She was miscast, most people would have taken the role, but in no way did she deserve the vitriol spewed at her. She worked incredibly hard but it wasn’t enough. That’s all, she was miscast, and people turned it away from her ability as a singer toward her appearance.
Beanie Feldstein was doomed from the beginning. I hope that after this production closes, that Funny Girl goes away for good. It's never been a critical darling and the only good thing to come out of it is Streisand performance. Some songs were literally written for her. When Bob Fosse was almost brought on board to direct the show, he told Styne and Merrill that "People" should be cut. Merrill explained that Streisand would make that song a hit and that's why they were keeping it. Nobody, other than Barbra Streisand, can do this score justice. Lea Michelle is very talented but I have a hard time believing that she's going to revitalize a show that was never good to begin with. Plus she's very clearly a bully and her behavior should not be rewarded. I hope Feldstein continues to do Broadway because she's very clearly a talented person. I'd love to maybe see her do a revival of a prestigious play or a golden-age musical that's a little more within her range.
@@isabellamorris7902 I think that she would be really good in "How I Learned to Drive." I think she could bring an innocence to Li'l Bit that would make the story a little more tragic than it already is. I would also like to see her as Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. For musicals, I think that she would work really well in a show that was a Broadway flop entitled "Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It)." It was written by the guy who wrote the song "It's Raining Men." I think if someone redid the book and added in some more songs from his catalog, it could be a really good vehicle for her. It's about how the title character, who's canonically a plus-sized woman, decides to make a career for herself in Hollywood and the struggles that come along with it.
Honestly the only true issue with this situation is how Beanie was treated throughout, because I must agree that her singing for this role specifically was not up to par, no matter how fun and funny she is. It's a hard part that needs someone who isn't fresh to this type of broadway music. Beanie should have never been made a spectacle of, especially because of her weight or anything pertaining to her looks. But her being replaced was just a matter of time, to be honest? It's just awful this all happened the way that it did. I hope for the sake of the production that Lea can keep herself professional. Maybe she's been working on herself the last few years? 😬
I think maybe the producers were banking on her comedic talent to be the focus instead of the songs. That's probably why they rewrote the book. But that was never going to be the case
Fanny Brice was real person. So is this play about her, or about Barbra Streisand ? Because if it is later, I struggle to see what is so interesting about this play. I mean if all what people want see is good singing in Barbra Streisand style, maybe they should make musical about Barbra Streisand.
I'm just saying. A small detail that no one is talking about. Jane Lynch ironically is leaving the same time that Lea Michelle stars in. Considering she played the most toxic character on Glee, and she's choosing to leave before Michelle stars. I believe that is EXTREMELY telling.
And one year later I can tell you that this is wrong, Jane Lynch praised her and supported her and said that she regretted leaving the show early and not working whit Lea. It's just that people love hating on others to speculate on everything.
i understand a lot of the criticisms about beanies singing but i can’t believe anyone can honestly sit there and say that she didn’t look and act wonderfully for the part. it’s always hard when a play is based on a real life person because there’s a temptation to just cast clones of that person but her style and her vibes were perfect for fanny in my opinion.
also just to be clear i love beanies singing this part is just really really hard and specific vocally a lot of amazing singers could never sing this part
I personally can’t wait until we’re a year or two past this show’s natural run and we get a What Really Happened style breakdown. I suspect that there is WAY more chaos and drama happening top to bottom of this production. I don’t think Beanie was the right choice to lead the show, but she gave it her best effort and one middling casting choice does not sink or swim an entire show. Beanie’s mindset on weight and self-esteem is genuinely motivational and I’ve always appreciated that. Lea is a drama magnet and I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever’s festering under the surface gets dragged out once she’s there.
Actually Y’all just want to hate Lea when she still can grow and prove you wrong. She’s super professional as far as making sure the show goes on, at least.
@@dahliadaydream “Lea attracts drama” does not equal “I hate Lea.” She is a very qualified professional singer and, yes, understands that the show must go on. I guess I’m trying to figure out what part of my comment says I hate her- I tried to make it clear that the drama is likely coming from *everywhere* and that one lead isn’t going to make or break an entire show.
@@averyeml Actually, and in this case most specifically, a lead will make or break a show. That' why all of this is happening in the first place. This musical is not an ensemble piece and was originally crafted to showcase Ms. Streisand's talents-it probably wouldn't have lasted a week in 1964 without her.
I spent a week in London and have been in the business for 30+ years. I got to hang out with a bunch of West end equity actors and they are not paid anywhere near what American Equity actors make. So I think that might have something to do with the low ticket costs.
Take the ticket pricing in this video with a grain of salt. The same show a week after Lea Michele's debut as Fanny Brice, the highest priced tickets are $269, bottoming out at $69 at times. Even for the September 6th show, there are tickets available way cheaper than WitW cited. I'm not aware of rush or lottery tickets at this time for Funny Girl, but they can further reduce the price of entry.
The comments about her appearance are truly baffling to me. The big part of the reason why roles like Fanny or Elphaba or some of the cast from RENT churn out these stunning powerhouse performers is because they allow for atypical looking actors in the role. The whole POINT of Fanny Brice is that she isn't traditionally beautiful.🤷♀️
Holy hamburgers! All this drama is not only toxic for the whole namesake/ cast involved, but hugely disgusting and out of touch. I will never be able to afford either price points in this video and neither would most of America! Last I checked, $2300 is rent for a shared apt in many areas of the 5 burrows of NYC. This argument is obnoxious!
This is definitely an interesting story, but please also make a video about Paradise Square closing-there’s some obvious misconduct that’s not being discussed enough amidst all the publicity surrounding Funny Girl. The cast and crew of Paradise Square deserve a video on what happened to their show (and their paychecks)!
She got hired for not being Babs. She got fired for not being Babs. So basically she got fired for doing what she got hired to do. Hopefully the Black actors can have their wigs locked away when Lea is in the building.
Really enjoyed your breakdown… but all these discussions really gloss over the role fatphobia had to play. If it was internalized or outward, fatphobia poisoned Beanie’s chances for success. How much easier was it for them to get rid of her since she did not “fit the leading lady mold”? Part of me thinks her body even influenced the reviews she got, because our society is naturally hateful to fatness and what it is associated with.
So many people glossed over the fact that even if her singing was slightly lacking for songs created for Barbara - her acting and stage presence and everything else was FANTASTIC; but people just really get pissed off when they see anyone outside their own conventions of attractiveness getting any limelight. It's disgusting
Personally I’m glad fatphobia exists because it is one more reason for people to take care of their bodies other than just the fact that it gives them longer life.
what i found really interesting is that with Beanie, a lot of the advertising was a “new take on Fanny”. and made a huge deal about making it into something new, not just an attempted barbara reprisal. but with lea, i mean if you take one look at her performing any funny girl song you can see how much she emulates Barbara, she’s not Lea Michelle singing as Fanny, she’s Lea Michelle singing as Barbara for them to look past the selling point of the revival; a “fresh take” on funny girl, as well as a racist and abusive reputation that the general public knows well, it makes me wonder how badly they needed lea michele. drama sells tickets, people are undoubtedly going to go see the show just to see what she actually brings to the table after all is said and done. but drama doesn’t sell for long, eventually everyone who wants to see it just for the spectacle will and everybody else simply won’t care. i wonder what will happen then…
I love what you said about drama not selling for long! To me it's a really weird casting choice, even for stunt casting, because she basically has a short chance to prove she has changed and can be worked with. But if ANY drama starts getting out and there's backlash, that could hurt the show quick!
Pretty much everybody who's ever done Funny Girl as the lead was emulating Barbra though. It's impossible to separate her from the role since it was tailored to her.
Lea is better than Barbara. By the way, no one ever mentions Barbara’s bad behavior through the years, her diva mentality, her mistreatment of others. That is ignored because there was no social media then.
I've been subbed for a long time (like, over a year), but somehow have never watched a video of yours until now. Holy cow. You knocked my socks off. This was so engrossing and fascinating. Bravo.
it's actually so disgusting how people are so ready to jump on fatshaming and essentially bullying Beanie, if you want to critic Beanie or anyone else for that matter on their performance, or who they are as a person, leave their fucking body and appearance out of it. good for Beanie for leaving, she's great and I hope she finds better collaborators than these clown ass producers who pushed her under the bus when the scenario they set up failed.
I'd be really interested in hearing more about Jane Lynch departure as well as Samantha Ware's posts in regards to the Lea Michele behind the scenes rumours
@@gracestoneman8 because she literally only come out and make noise whenever Lea does something and I mean anything. As if she wants her to disappear from this world with her baby.
Maybe because thats what seeing her bully be rewarded for her poor attitude feels like. I do understand her and it's her choice whether to accept an "apology" or carry that grudge
@@luxusken05 Samantha wasnt the only one, every Glee fan knew from the begging of the show about her attitude due to rumors and coments from extras, Samanthah only confirm what was already very well known, and almost all the cast directly or indirectamente have supported her on that even some of the originals on the show
I really wanted Julie Benko to become the new lead full time and end up doing a Sutton Foster. I’m not really sure why they cast Lea when her rep is terrible and her alleged racism is not great and nobody can tell me there aren’t other actors with name recognition who can sing and act the role. I feel really sorry for Beanie tbh, I know nepotism got her the role and she wasn’t suited for it but it must hurt to have such awful reviews.
OTOH what should the reviewers have done? I know it is only a tiny sample but I saw the official commercial for Funny Girl. It was only a minute long and they purposely only have an instrumental for most of it, but the end is Beanie singing the last couple of lines from Don't Rain on My Parade. Keep in mind that this is the professionally made commercial where you could have her do it over and over and you could use special mixing equipment, and STILL she didn't sound good. I can't imagine what she would sound like live where there is no second take. So if you were a reviewer would you say somebody was good if they weren't , to spare their feelings when people are paying hundreds for each ticket and deserve to know the truth? I also can't help feeling that if you are going to benefit from nepotism you have to be prepared for bad reviews if you aren't that great. Nobody who isn't your dad is obligated to tell you you're awesome, you have to EARN that from strangers. To be clear though, I agree that nobody should care about her weight. If she could sing the part I'd be behind her.
I don't get it either because even though Lea might be "good stunt casting" she comes with sooooo much baggage. All eyes are going to be on her behavior and any drama unfolding. We already know she can sing the songs (not exactly sure how great she's gonna do otherwise but...). If any backlash started to happen it could really impact ticket sales big time, esp with the price to see Lea in the role. I'd bet Julie ends up with the role in the long run. Lea wants to have her moment in the spotlight with it, but 6 shows a week, doing the whole role- not just the hit songs- and having to carry your reputation well with it is going to be a LOT for her...plus having a failing show on your back.
If I wanted to see Lea Michelle do a Streisand imitation, I'd just watch practically every song she did on Glee. Oh, but that's what my fast forward is for...so I don't have to watch her sing on Glee.
I feel bad for the criticism Beanie got that involved her looks. I saw some horrible things said about her. I especially feel bad that Julie Benko wasn't allowed to take over the role completely. As a Glee fan its wild to see how many storylines have come true in real life. Great video as always.
And not helping matters is that by the time the cast recording came out for this revival, it had Lea and Tovah as Fanny and her mom, instead of Beanie and Jane.
As someone who did an undergraduate degree in film production and had to work with a lot of undergraduate performing arts students as well as other people on my course I’ve come the conclusion that 30% of the people in the entertainment industry are toxic or driven by ego.
Agreed. As someone who lives in a smaller country and I didn’t even really see any part of it I felt grateful that I don’t have to put up with people of arts. I actually prefer my professors’ lectures to actors’ talking about their life and what they think is important etc. for hours in the name of an “acting” class.
@@aiai-j7i what I’m kind of saying is this is why I have never been bothered by people at those levels being assholes to each other I’m more shocked if they aren’t
I saw Beanie in Funny Girl and really enjoyed her, and Jane Lynch for that matter. In fact, they weren't the problem with the show. The book, and the show itself, just can't keep up with how much Broadway has changed since Streisand. Not to mention so much of Fanny's story was never there to begin with.
You know what's sad? Fanny Bryce would ACTUALLY be perfect for someone who is overweight because it breaks that "conventional beauty" barrier that Hollywood/Broadway (let's face it, the two are practically the same at this point) loves to cling onto. However, I agree with a lot of other commenters that whoever they casted should've been able to belt. Personally, I believe nepotism had a bit of an impact on casting but that's just me...
My mom just saw Beanie in Funny Girl yesterday, and said that her acting was really strong, but her vocals weren’t up to par. It’s really hard being compared to Barbara Streisand, and showing up as a film actress for a stint on Broadway. I’m not a musical theater person myself, but it sounds like Beanie might not have been the right person for this role with the scrutiny in her singing, but it’s hard to hear that she’s being lambasted by the press and in social media. Broadway don’t the end of the world, can we please give her a break?
I say cut the price to$29.50 and I' ll overlook her bad singing. Not. I bought Tix for when Beanie Feldstein was at a wedding. Julie Benko was fantastic.
Honestly good for Beanie taking what power she had left in this situation and leaving early. I never watched Glee but know about Lea's behavior and hope her attitude doesn't totally ruin things for her costars and the crew as a whole.
@@stafonvoncamron if you think that's like... a biological fact or something, I'm a bit concerned about who taught you biology. Cause if it's not a biological fact (which it isn't), it's not as certain as you seem to be framing it as.
@@stafonvoncamron I guess, if an egotistical bullying person were to become a parent - they wouldn't be Egotistical about themselves. They would be egoistic about Baby that they have I saw a lot of women, who thought, that they are the center of a Universe, just because they are mothers, so no. Motherhood not always changes person for good
Serious question, because I’m not a huge theater person: why on God’s green Earth is this show charging +$2000 for Lea Michele’s first performance? I know that she’s a famous actress and all, but even for something as prestigious as Broadway, this feels overpriced.
I believe it's more so the ticket buying system/program they're using. Usually, prices will start out fairly reasonable for broadway that is. it depends on the popularity of the show most times. If it's a smaller less popular show tickets are usually more accessible and thus more affordable. When tickets go on sale and there's a lot of demand for it and they're selling out, the program automatically hikes the prices up. This happens a lot on sites like Ticketmaster (which people complain about constantly). You can even read articles about the prices for tickets to a BTS concert. It really sucks. I just saw an article today about Bruce Springsteen fans outraged that tickets were selling for $4-5k. Long story short, it's not really the theater itself always setting these INSANE prices, usually, it's the work of algorithms and all that other BS feeding off of demand and traffic. Sorry, I hope that explained enough.
Even Hamilton was going to prices like that too. It's all around unfortunate for theater fans because it just makes musical theater inaccessible and frames it as if it's only something for the uber-wealthy.
@@memorian8472 Broadway overall is so prohibitively expensive it baffles me. Especially since they simultaneously refuse to film and stream the shows for a wider audience.
Man, my heart breaks for Beanie, because she're like perfect for the role of Fanny Brice. From the little snippet I saw -and granted, it's not much to go off of- yeah, her singing is not great, and yeah, that is an issue in the context of a musical, but idk, they could've cheated a little, re-arranged the score to make it easier for her. If the original score was written specifically for Streisand, I don't think it would be that outrageous to tweak it for your new leading lady. And I am convinced that critics latched on to her weaker vocal performance as a way to excuse their fatphobia, because I am sure the acting parts were flawless
Honestly nobody can deny that Lea will be successful at the part. Nobody can take her talent away from her. That aside it’s the way she went about it and how she’s treated ppl in the past. She’s a mother now hopefully she’s learned something from this
she's just a singer and actress, she is not really that powerful. All she did now was sending some congratulations on insta or twitter to Beanie? It's the producers who look at who will attract the biggest paying audiences (make them most money) and it's that money that decides who will be cast or replaced
How was she mistreated? She got to play the role, on Broadway. She opened the first ever Broadway revival of a show, that she dreamed of being in and she was given all the same support and chances as anyone else in the same situation. The fact that she ended up not being very good and the public opinion of her performance, was that it wasn’t up to standard is just the way things work. You get out on stage and you take that chance. She hasn’t been treated badly, she just wasn’t good enough. And that’s ok. Nobody can rewind time and take this away from her, she will always have this experience
So the original fanny brice was about triumphing over her appearance (as a comedic actor), but the producers just threw that message out the window with their scandal?
With respect, I don't understand why this is considered a scandal or a fiasco. Someone wasn't extremely popular in a role, and the producers replaced her with someone who could make them more money. That's the entertainment industry. That's every, single day in the entertainment industry. As for Ms. Michelle being a diva- again, that's the entertainment industry. I'm not attacking anyone. What is being described is just normal life in the film and theatre (song and dance) industry.
honestly, if they weren't seriously considering dropping beanie early on, then they SHOULD have been.. i don't believe for one minute that the producers/directors couldn't anticipate the critical reception once they were well into rehearsals.. say what you want about lloyd weber, the producers should have taken at least one page from his book when it came to dunaway in 'sunset'.. as soon as it was obvious beanie's vocal abilities weren't going to miraculously improve they should have quietly dismissed her before there was ever a preview citing any made up public excuse to help her save face and afford themselves time to scramble to line up a replacement before the curtain ever went up.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
According to the article the producing team was split, one part wanted to stick with her while the other wanted her out ever since rehearsals . I agree that the should have replaced her way earlier into the process
Though Lea Michele obviously loves this role and sings it well, I personally didn't think she would fit it simply because I never saw her as "funny". Even before her bad behavior come out, some other people from Glee stood out as more witty or cracking jokes or just easy going in a way Michele didn't. Now with her reputation today, I don't understand why a director would want a diva like that in their cast. Even if she isn't "that bad" or whatever any production (musical, tv, teather, movie...) is affected by the leading role, for good or bad, and should really consider that.
I mean yeah but two things one the tickes she is going to sell will be crazy and two her behavioral problems were from a long time ago and a lot has changed also as a side note while I am sure she could be hard to work with back then I am also sure that she was not as bad as everyone claimed she was.
@@jackhitchcock8060 your reputation is your reputation until you prove that it's not. It doesn't just go away because time passes. Especially when it was SO bad and there were SO many reports of it.
I feel bad for Beanie. She did not sound good in the promos leading up to the opening for Funny Girl, and it wasn’t completely her fault. They could’ve done something to accommodate the fact that the songs were too high for her. They lower songs for performers all the time. I was really rooting for her but it felt like they were setting her up to fail from day one.
I think Beanie’s enthusiasm is wonderful and she really gave it her all, but vocally she just wasn’t strong enough for this role. However, I truly don’t think Lea should’ve been their next choice. Beanie’s understudy deserved it so much more.
I got to be an extra on Glee once for a few hours and got a tiny glimpse of Lea Michelle's bad behavior but she definitely is extremely talented. I'd like to think that people can change but that doesn't mean people have to accept them if their behavior was as bad as hers is said to be.
@@katherinealvarez9216 you do know that Beanie played Monica Lewinsky in I think it was a movie (didn''t see it but heard of it). It isn't like bringing her up is out of left field.
@@Dazreil Ah, thanks for that info. That IS pretty funny. Now I picture some event where Ryan Murphy and everyone he's worked with get invited and he has to interact with both Beanie and Lea at the same time.
Am I the only one that feels like the whole revival was just so rushed. For a show that had not been revived in decades it seems like this particular production was set up just to put on *anything* and it reflects in not just the casting but the production overall. Plus I know that training can not completely make up for a lack of abilities but I think Beanie could have done better with more practice in the role, they didnt even do out of town trials I believe. Either way they dropped the ball in every conceibable way and insetad of broadway keeping the promises of "a new and more fair workplace for everyone" that they had made during the pandemic it's just regressing to its old habits. Like this coupled with the paradise square drama is just a horrible reflection of the hipocrisy of the industry
Honestly, I learned from this video that THIS production was a big hit in London before the pandemic and immediately prior to the production Rosie O'Donnell was hinting she was doing it in the spring of 2020, so I don't think it was rushed, I think it was delayed.
@@jackhitchcock8060 You have a point !! didnt think to correlate the rosie rumours with a posible delay but you are right about that. Still, I've seen parts of the recording of the london production and while I haven't seen the broadway one it looks... different. But maybe that's just the aesthetics and the book remaineed the same on broadway
Ngl, a lot of behind-the-scenes drama of Broadway musicals can be turned into great Broadway musicals themselves omg. Especially Carrie, and Spider Man Turn off the Dark.
Professional vocalist/performer here. This whole thing makes me sad. I think the producers and casting directors really failed Beanie and the entire production here. Beanie is very talented but honestly not a good fit for this role vocally. If she were in a contemporary show that did not have the reputation that Funny Girl has, her vocal faults would've been much less visible because we wouldn't be comparing her constantly to literal icons of the theatre world. I'm really hoping that Beanie's early departure is a relief for her. I can't imagine the amount of pressure she's been under and the horribly abusive behavior she must have endured online and offline. She deserves to move on and find success elsewhere after all this, somewhere where people will recognize her talent. Not to mention her humanity.
I have to agree. The producers and direction made a mistake and Beanie should have never been cast for this role. Not to say she isn't talented, but this kind of role isn't for her. Putting her in this position is setting her up for failure. The actual criticism of her performance is legitimate, but the harassment isn't. It's terrible she has to suffer because the suits upstairs made a bad call.
The truly damning context here, RE the production team, is that Lea was an extremely obvious choice and it's kinda hard to imagine them NOT casting her intitially, except her reputation. She was set up for the role in front of an audience of millions - this doesn't reflect on Beanie in any way, but it does make one wonder why they considered anyone besides Lea. Their given reasons for hiring Beanie were totally valid - representation absolutely does matter and it was great seeing a fat Jewish woman in a lead role - but I don't think that truly answers the question of why they *didn't* hire an actor who was %110 teed up from her past career and extremely enthused about the role. Makes the whole thing feel a little like a cruel switcheroo designed to avoid other actors not wanting to work with a known nightmare lead.
That's actually a really good point. They knew they couldn't cast Lea from the beginning, so they created the conditions under which "they had no choice".
stop. because EVERYTHING about this; down to the music playing in the background, Lea Michelle clips playing as well as Beanie just SCREAMSSSS a WHOLE Glee episode and I'm WHEEZINNGGGG
If they wanted to cast an unknown actor they should’ve cast an unknown actor with incredible vocal skills and done open auditions. Beanie also got this through nepotism she was just a terrible choice
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Also! We're not discussing Beanie Feldstein's dad allegedly being a producer on the show in this video because I've yet to find any solid proof confirming or denying this.
Good narration. Background music just needs to be brought down by -6 dB.
Great video! Just FYI, Funny Girl's website currently lists Lea as playing seven shows a week (not six), with Benko only performing regularly on Thursday evenings, beginning in September.
great video. i feel awful for Beanie. she doesn't deserve this harassment from theatre fans.
What if he is, who cares? Ben Pratt’s family are mega producers, does that affect the work he does on Broadway? Why not also investigate in their relations with Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk-both starred in their shows? Hmmmmmmmm.
He was a producer, stop defending nepotism
The fact that Jane Lynch is also planning to leave the show earlier than planned and just days before the date Lea is planned to debut in the show gives me very 👀 😬vibes. I have a feeling that all of this drama is nowhere close to being finished yet…
For whatever it is worth Jane Lynch claims she loves Lea and that the decision to not overlap is so that the new Fanny and the new Mom of Fanny start together.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 Actors almost never burn their bridges publicly. She wouldn't want to cause MORE problems for the show on the way out.
Having her and Lea Michele onstage together would have been great marketing, so there's just no way it's a total coincidence.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 jane was the most respected actor on glee, lea tends to only be a nightmare towards people she thinks she's better than, I'm assuming for that reason lea and Jane never had any issues
@@devildham I think a lot of people think that Jane absolutely wouldn't have pubically burned her bridges so she quietly left to avoid any working or contact with Lea professionally with this show. Just because you're not targetted by the toxic person doesn't mean you want to work with them again (or want to be associated with them, which I personally bet was the case. There was bound to be a lot more drama coming & Jane got out of dodge)
@@themeltedchocolate in my experience with working with toxic, very competitive, young people they def target the people who are 'threats' the most but highly respect/"respect"/kiss up to people above them. It would have served her well professionally to have that good relationship with Jane Lynch and be respected by her...but Jane's been around for awhile, she's no dummy and I'm guessing if Lea was toxic to work with, even if she wasn't targetted she definitely saw what was going on.
Beanie definitely didn't deserve the body shaming and attacks. The reaction to her performance from the internet was absolutely overblown and extra. That said, if the producers wanted to do right by plus size representation they should've found a girl with vocals that fit . It's plenty big girls with big vocals out there.
They needed the 'star' power and pr blitz that hiring lea would to make back losses
I did find it strange that they were like "oh well we had to find a Jewish girl who could sing, act, and dance". I'm like...it's New York dude...there are plenty of those...
@@MsDefectiveToaster Right. Like who do they think they're fooling??
Beanie doesn't have the vocal chops for the part and that's a fact, but her acting seems perfectly alright and I personally thought it was a great idea to cast plus size actress in this part. Like you said, they should've just found a plus size actress who could sing the part. But I've seen so many people jump to call others fatphobic for criticizing beanie's performance, this is such a tricky situation, there are valid reasons to criticize her, her weight isn't one of them, but it's so easy for people to turn around and act like that's what you're criticizing her for
@@MsDefectiveToaster I know this is about beanie but funny enough lea isn't Jewish, she's catholic
The producers are the real failures here. First they failed to see how putting an actress with passable vocal skill into a notoriously strenuous role could backfire. Then they supported the narrative that Beanie, a person they CHOSE to hire, was the only problem with their underwhelming production. And finally they gamble their employees' wellbeing by hiring someone notorious for not playing nice with others (Yes, people can change for the better. But they are still taking a big risk.).
Reputations precede people for a reason. Change be damned if I was in the cast I would be dreading her arrival! lol
@@langleymneely I appreciate you pointing out the other cast members. It's one thing to hire someone notoriously hard to work with, it's another to hire them midway through a production. I doubt everyone in the revival had the career options to just bail, and one consequence of the change is *none of them knew before signing up*. I couldn't say for sure it would've changed anyone's decisions, but there isn't really a way to know because of the catch-22 the production team handed them.
It genuinely makes me wonder if the switcheroo was semi-intentional. At the very least, Lea's reputation was a factor in them not casting her to begin with, and swapping later is NOT a good look in that context.
You are so right
It pains me what’s going down with Lea. Her reputation is awful and if half the allegations about her are facts she had it coming, BUT. I simply cannot get over the fact that it’s been a DECADE since that behavior. I bet we can all agree we are by no means the same people we used to be 10 years ago. I’m not speaking for her, I’m just stating my point. She’s a mother, she has had a lot of karma recently due of actions she maybe didn’t remember or at least didn’t want to. If I were her I wouldn’t go out and be awful once again, with so much people rooting for me to get cancelled. Let her redeem herself already. Life is about mercy and letting people get second chances.
@@juandiegofreireflorez3680 You don't have to compromise other peoples working environment just to give someone a "chance at redemption." By the same token, 10 years is a long time full of chances to demonstrate growth and make amends - in other words she has HAD the opportunity to redeem herself. Funny Girl is an opportunity to rehab her PR. No one is owed that.
No one is required to just ASSUME a person has improved themselves; it's gotta be based in actual evidence and efforts to make amends. I have BEEN in situations where I tried assuming the best of people who've been awful to me - it's not a safe assumption for anyone who actually then has to be around the person.
The whole point of funny girl is telling the story of a woman who doesn't meet the beauty standards succeed because of her tenacity and talent...
The irony of this whole situation is sickening.
There is nothing ironic about it. Beanie did not succeed in this case because unlike Fanny, she lacked the talent to carry the show. You are confusing her looks with her talent.
That part
@@aiai-j7i if it's only about her talent, why did so many people comment on her weight or say she doesn't "look the part" even though she plays a woman who didn't fit the beauty standards of the time? the focus on her appearance is the ironic part, obviously
Feldstein
didn't have the Tallent though
It’s not ironic in the least. Feldstein was criticised for being an underwhelming performing. Also, she’s played the role, time hasn’t been rewound to remove it from her. She wanted the job and she got it. The fact that they decided to go in a different direction after her departure only means the show wasn’t working and they are want to keep it open by trying to cast someone more in line with public opinion on how the role should be cast. Feldstein hadn’t lost out on anything, wounded pride and public humiliation yes but that’s par for the course.
I genuinely feel bad for Beanie. This was a project she cared for since she was a kid and to have it end up this way must have hurt. I really wish her the best.
Hurt more than pity applause night after night? Can't imagine how awful pity applause or no applause at all is?
Let's see if you feel bad for her after paying expensive tickets ... 🙄🙄
@@percyweasley9301 This is suck a boring backwards take. Also, wasn't planning to see the show. Nice to know you care tho.
I honestly don't blame Beanie announcing her departure, early. Cutting off communication was all the power that she had left, at that point.
Like I'd get off that ship as soon as possible too.
When your bosses hang you over the side of the boat like chum for the sharks, you gotta get out of that workplace
@@DoveAlexa her father is one of the producers do you think he would do that to her?
@@GitanAnimex she probably didn't totally cut off her father, however she would feel the need to protect herself. All the other circumstances and actions she took are warranted
@@WhatShallEyeDo4U its all speculation even this video whe don't know what happend exactly but honestly i don't think his father a producer of the play she was the lead would play her bad usually is the other way
I'm probably gonna get a LOT of hate for this take but... I feel "Funny Girl" went in a "different direction" WAY back in its original production when they casted Barbra. Now don't get me wrong I love Barbra and I like the show, but watching it, I got the sense that this was less of a story about Fanny Brice and more a showcase of Barbra's talents. After watching a few Fanny Brice videos, Beanie Feldstein just looks and sounds like a more accurate portrayal of Fanny Brice. Fanny wasn't the strongest singer either, but it was her comedic abilities and overall stage presence that really sold herself as a performer. And yes absolutely Barbara is HILARIOUS! But Critics seemed to focus more on her vocals not being "fit" for the role, while also ignoring Beanie's acting and skill for comedy, and the only reason they feel that way is because they kept comparing her vocals to Barbra's. Now to me I think all this comparison completely overshadows WHO exactly this show is about. This show is about FANNY not BARBRA, so saying that Beanie doesn't fit a role that was never meant to be a Barbra Streisand impression in the first place is not only dishonest, but it's a bit of a slap in the face to Fanny Brice's name and story.
Honestly, until I read this comment, I had no idea Fanny Brice was a real person. (I’ve never seen or listened to Funny Girl, I’ve just heard a lot about it) and it think thats quite telling on how much this show hasn’t really been about being true to her, so most people probably have no idea if any portrayal is more or less accurate to the real person
that is good point. i know nothing about theatre, but it seems to me that critics were comparing Beanie to Barbara, while they should be comparing Beanie to Fanny.
this is the most interesting, nuanced, and original opinion on this drama that I have seen yet. Love this take
While the show is about fanny and you're absolutely correct that fanny herself wasn't the strongest singer. The music written for this show requires someone who is able to belt out high notes and unfortunatly not many can do that .
@@kassinwonderland22 but thats the whole point I’m making is that the reason why the show is for a belty mezzo is because they made it for Barbra. That’s fine, but if I’m going to be honest, the critics don’t really care who fits the character of Fanny and more about who can sing like Barbara and I just think that’s not fair to integrity of Fanny Brice’s character
the fatphobia in the theatre and film industry is so baked in and I know several people who would tell you straight up that that's why they left or were EXPLICITLY TOLD to leave the industry. I hope Beanie is ok.
It's flat out bizarre to me that it's 2022 and literally most of our country is not skinny and still there is still so much fatphobia associated with film and theatre! We don't want to see skinny bitches everywhere, yet the trolls in the comments win every time. Beanie is honestly not even that big!
@@accountforwastingtime I'm not even American lol
Okay I didn’t know whether to vote up or down because I entirely agree with you but I was like I don’t want tip put a thumbs up next to some seriously disgusting news about people being fired based on their weight. I think we should just stop giving any validity to their “fears” as they are genuinely irrational. Just because the female bodies that have historically dominate the stage and screen are based on what Hollywood or fashion deemed “in” do you remembers heroine chic? Then take a look through your memory and bring to mind every male actor who would wear a size Large, see how many you can list. Do the same thing for female actors who would fit best in a regular size L pair of leggings. Name them out loud. As many as you can, if you’re not finding many try including musicians.
Now remove the ones who are using self deprecating humor to be the butt of jokes that they didn’t write. Now think of only the serious actors, ones who are a size L of over. My list is painfully short.
But not to be only doom and gloom I did get to keep Lizzo, she’s not self deprecating, she’s empowered and importing. She’s also one of a kind talented and genuine. So why do we still let the loudest most annoying voices impact how we think? This is other peoples fears. And I’m done giving it a title other than calling all of these gendered expectations on others because what they forget how to bees when they see two men kiss or a plus size woman walks past them? Okay so these Phobics have ideas around what should be under their control when it comes to women, not just the rights but the size of the female person requires in order to be to deemed appropriate for representation in social media. -But is so they really represent the Broadway going crowds? I would strongly disagree starting with tbr fans, but by the time it’s just about money- sex sells. Sex appeal is currency. But this switch? We went from genuine charm and character to a genuinely mentally unstable human being, and I say that as someone who grew up loving Glee. I mean mostly for the queer characters, but, any representation can be amazing when it was previously not on main stream tv in prime time. I truly feel bad for Lea for the human suffering, but it’s pretty clear she’s always been playing the villain in her own story - to quote crazy ex gf and get Rachel Bloom in here, another Jewish belting beauty who might prefer the fit of large tights. And what I thought would be a poor misrepresentation of mental health turned into an phenomenal, heartfelt and moving story which, while being playful and funny, shows Rebecca to be a badass lawyer who SPOILER -chooses herself.
And all while performing every kind of dance and parody song you always knew you wanted, Rebecca is pursued by gorgeous men. And it’s not weird she’s amazing she’s gorgeous and initial skinny rival becomes her friend and they support each other, all of the women in the show do. And from everything I’ve heard or read she’s Rachel is great to work with, doesn’t abuse people with hate speech, and is actually funny and good at both taking and giving direction, working with everyone on set, not against them. I’m naive to think Lea was just kind of over now due to her behavior, but honestly if she continues to act that way this show won’t be the right kind of funny.
Mama Cass was the biggest star from the 60s + Melissa McCarthy is the highest paid actress in Hollywood. If they have the talent, that's all that matters. Beanie is a spoiled nepotism baby, glad she got the boot.
@@richardbocanegra5945 Margot robbie is the current highest paid actress for 2022.
It’s amazing how the people criticizing beanie’s appearance completely missed the entire point of funny girl
If there's one good thing to come from this Mess of a revival, it's that a Brilliant Understudy has gotten the chance to Shine in an Extremely competitive environment.
Julie Benko's rendition of Fanny Brice deserves all the Praise she's been recieving.
Two things can be true. She wasn’t right for the role, but she was also treated poorly
She was right for the acting part, she nailed that, it's just people need to face the fact that only Barbara can sing like Barbara and as the songs were specially written for her to showcase her talents every other singer is pushing shit up hill to try to get close.
Exactly, it is the production's fault, not hers... they hired her, if they idn't see she wasn't right it is their fault.
THANK YOU. EXACTLY!!
@@wwaxwork exactly my point!! your the only smart ppl in this comment section.
She would be ideal for a movie version without singing.
The fact that I had no idea that Fanny Brice was a real person and thought that she was a character originated by Streisand tells me everything, honestly. It sounds like an incredibly interesting comedian has been overshadowed later on by a bombastic singer, and while I know the point of a musical is the music... This just feels slimy.
I don't know I feel like without the musical there is a lot less people who have an opportunity to know and learn about the real life Fanny Brice than with the musical even if Barbra Streisand has a bigger name and celebrity recognition to us today. It's not really the musicals fault that vaudeville is a niche piece of history that most people aren't going to have an immediate recall of either, it's more like history overshadowing her rather than a bombastic singer doing so.
No, Fanny Bryce was Barbara Streisand before Mr and Mrs Streisand ever met.
Shame on all of you for not knowing Fanny Brice she was a legendary musical entertainer
Exactly!!! I had no idea she was a real person. It's so sad that she's been erased, indirectly, by Streisand.
The real Fanny Brice would have probably like Beanie more than Lea...
Love Beanie in the part or hate her in it, there is NO excuse for people putting Beanie down for mistakes made by the Funny Girl creative and producing team that failed her, the show itself, and the fans. Is one of these mistakes casting her in the first place? Yes. It is. They knew before hand that she was going to be held up against both Barbra AND Lea. They should have seen that it was not going to be a good fit for the insanely too high expectations set on this revival. People were not looking for a true to the real Fanny Brice performance (which is 100% what Beanie is giving and giving well), they were looking for the next Barbara moment. This was known before hand and yet they still went in this direction and when, shocker, it didn't go the way they had hoped, they failed to get behind their star and support her through all the hate and bullying she was getting. They just dumped her. Who knows, perhaps if they had gotten a DIFFERENT replacement for her, things would have spiraled to this point of madness we are in now but the fact that it's a known bully.... it feels so high school, doesn't it? The pretty girl popular bully gets her way even through everyone knows she is a horrible person but she's rich and pretty so she gets her way. Meanwhile, the bullied different girl gets knocked down even further than she already has been.
Can you please stop. I get your point. She was miscast but she was dumped because she simply doesn’t have the vocal ability to carry the score. Also, Just because Lea was horrible in the past doesn’t meant she still is. Grow up and give others a chance to grow from their mistakes as well. She was really young when she got in the business and now she’s a grown woman, a mother and she is fully aware of her mistakes. She already suffered enough cancelling don’t you think? Or do you think she should continue to suffer forever for what she did. Lea is a better singer. Period. That’s why she’s replacing beanie not because she’s pretty or whatever
@@edwardonochie3565 thank you. beanie certainly was not “giving it well”. and even bullies can change after 10+ years.
I heard she only got the role due to nepotism, so I do blame her in part for that. She should have known better. She should have known they were other actresses and singers more capable of taking that role, especially when it comes to the singing, which is a huge part of Fanny.
@@NawiTheCore she didn't get the part due to nepotism, she auditioned for it and got it
@@guadalupevenegas8466 well I'm guessing the audition wasn't annonymous
I’m rooting for Beanie. She is a star on the rise and she is facing so much unwarranted hate. I hope she doesn’t let it ruin her peace🤍
She was miscast. It happens all the time. End of drama.
Lea is better.
@@delrey874at being a racist piece of shit? Absolutely!
@@aiai-j7i sure. But she still desrves to be treated so much better. She is incredibly talented, just not for this specific role.
@@delrey874 better singer worst coworker/star. doesnt matter how talented ya are. if ya have a rep of being a terrible person to work with no one will hire ya or if they do no one will keep ya around long and try to force ya to quit or in show business never hire ya again. happens in every industry.
I think the best outcome is that Lea Michele behaves herself and doesn't simply do a Streisand impersonation.
And Beanie gets cast in a role that's a huge success for her. Because these producers threw her under the bus.
Lea Michele will only do a Streisand impersonation. Don't count on anything else.
I just hope they read the lines to her fast enough since it's been confirmed that she cannot read. :)
Ow please...this is nothing new...it is a cutthroat business.
No one in these comments was alive to see Streisand in the role on Broadway including Lea. How would she copy Streisand in the role?
@@guyritchie7504 Not true. And all you have to do is watch the film of "Funny Girl' and then watch either Glee or Michele's performance on the Tony's of "Don't Rain on My Parade" - total Streisand rip-off, nothing original.
I have just returned from a NYC trip where I saw 4 shows. With all the negative attention on Funny Girl, it was lower on my list; However, a Covid cast outbreak in a different show I was supposed to see freed me up to see Beanie Feldstein in the Funny Girl matinee on the same day she announced her earlier departure (Sunday). All the people around me shared the same initial concern before the show began. Several of us (who got last-minute tickets) had seriously upgraded seats designated by the usher (I'm sure not a good indicator). Nonetheless... The show was fabulous! Every aspect was great. The staging was impressive, the comedic timing was great, the chemistry between Beanie and Ramim was good, Beanie's vocals were wonderful, and her dancing was great. Jane was fabulous too. The audience gave multiple applauses mid-show and a resounding much-deserved standing ovation at the end. I don't know if it was due to changes because of all the criticism over the past several months or if it was simply the criticism was too harsh comparing Beanie to a freak prodigy (Streisand) - to which how many Streisand-calibre stars have there been in the past 50+ years?!!? Even Idina Menzel's performance at the Kennedy Awards to Barbra herself (while incredible) was not quite Barbra'esque. Beanie should not be compared to anyone! Allow Beanie to tell the story of Fanny Brice - the actual protagonist in this true-life story, not try and retell Barbra's caricature of Fanny. I feel so bad for Beanie! She doesn't deserve any of this!
(+) Up-vote... True... Funny Girl is supposed to be a story of a comedian, not a SINGER-comedian... Sadly, they want a Streisand, not a funny girl...
nepotism is a no from me
@@JD-ht7yw I have no problem with nepotism in an art context. The checks and balance takes place at the box office. Why not produce a show for one’s child if they are capable of doing so? The audience has spoken
Thank you for your sharing your experience, I think Beanie is a lot better than the audiences who attended are giving her credit for.
@@atdomb The audience has spoken and they have said 'no'! It's an unfair system in any situation and circumstance and it obviously bombs most things as it did in this case. Because. had their parent not been there, they would not have the talent to get the role. And your statement that Funny Girl is about a comedian and not a singer-comedian, do you say the same thing about George Washington in Hamilton?? George Washington wasn't a singer? Bitch, this is broadway
Lets be honest. These women weren't fighting over who would play Fanny Brice on Broadway. They were fighting over who would play Barbara Streisand.
This is exactly the truth! Barbra is the greatest star and always will be. It’s that simple.
YUP
I get the impression Beanie truly loved Fanny Brice, but I can absolutely see Lea wanting to be Streisand. She was introduced to the role via Glee, had all the big shots excited about her singing the song and being connected with it and probably soaked up all that love as a young actress. Honestly I can see what Ryan Murphy meant though, people mostly loved her singing the bit hit and had seen it many times...but I can't really see her for the rest of the role tho. Esp not for a prolonged Broadway 6 show a week run. She has the name and that's about it, stunt casting at its finest.
@@accountforwastingtime she's done Broadway before
@@12345678abracadabra ya, years ago, but she has said Funny Girl was the only show that could bring her back to broadway. It's not the dream, she's just feels very entitled to that one role.
I was deeply underwhelmed by the very idea of this revival. “Funny Girl” is indeed a weak book, with a few memorable songs that were written expressly to showcase Streisand’s vocal strengths and are therefore entirely associated with her. This was a deeply unnecessary project. On the other hand, anything that gives more stage time to Ramin Karimloo has something going for it.
I was in a production of the show back in ... holy cow, it was 40 years ago! Anyway, it was pretty obvious to me even back then that this show was sorely lacking.
"anything that gives more stage time to Ramin Karimloo has something going for it."
*Stares in West End's Love Never Dies*
@@Eviltwin531 the kitten who crawled into Lloyd Webber’s electronic piano and deleted big chunks of Love Never Dies is a hero
Yep -he and Jane were the main reasons I saw the show the week before Memorial Day
Exactly the right take.
Nice, allow the leading lady to be bullied out of the show and bring in a bully as the replacement, great move Broadway
right? some chud in these comments is harping on her for being " lazy " not showing up to shows with covid- uh maybe her mental health and self esteem took a massive blow when ppl told her she was too big to sing and crack jokes
Yeah but if the Bully is a better performer than does it really matter?
@@Gonk yea but no one wants Lea Michele’s racist annoying ass back on broadway, it just shows that at the end of the day the pretty popular bully gets her own way, wish something bad would happen to her smh
@@Gonk Yes, it does
@@kenjako Morally it does but financially it doesn't because he just explained bringing in that bully will generate buzz and ppl are paying lots of money to see this problematic star perform again in a long time. She might be worse than Beanie who knows. People will still pay to see her even if she's good or bad, since people love to hate her. I believe that she was and may still be a bully who knows and that sucks but Ryan Murphy keeps bringing her back, why?
Reminder that the line “she may be difficult but boy can she sing” was written by Ryan Murphy to praise Lea Michele’s ‘character’ Rachel Berry who was horrible to everyone and still worshipped because of her talent. Ryan Murphy was one of the only people who worked with Lea Michele before this because she is so famously horrible to work with. People now CONSTANTLY throwing out that line to defend Lea’s insanely well documented bullying has made me roll my eyes right out of my head.
Jobs should go to the most qualified people not the nicest people.
@@piranha5506That is idiotic, what's the point of being qualified if your behavior isn't qualified to work with other people? Bringing in a person who got (in)famous for her horrible behavior would only make the quality of the project decay since she's not the only participant in it
@@piranha5506 Social skills are also an important part of being in a workplace.
She's good but not THAT good.
@@piranha5506 That doesn't justify being abusive, does it?
A friend of mine made his Broadway debut with this production and it sucks to see his and other performers' debuts overshadowed by all of the controversy surrounding Beanie's departure and Lea Michele's casting.
I wonder if casting Lea will end up being good news for your friend and the rest of the cast. The show was tanking. This might give it new life and will certainly bring more eyes to see your friend and the rest of the cast/ give their work a chance to be enjoyed by more. I think the cast will, in time, appreciate their show having a leading lady who can really belt.
@@danielrisher9312 and who can really belt them in the face if they look at her directly in the eyes or try to talk to her.
Your friend’s debut has not been overshadowed. They will be getting the same amount of public attention as they would have otherwise. The general public aren’t buying tickets to see friend
On the bright side, his debut show will be talked about for decades, instead of being completely unmemorable and forgotten.
@@zjjir The understudy isn't going to sell enough tickets to keep a multi million dollar musical open, is the issue. A face from Television may
The real crying shame is the producers having the audacity to charge $2300 for a f-ing ticket! 😳😡
How much now…?! 😱
yeah really
You get a discount if you’re a student. Only $20-40
@Lee well now I feel a little better about this whole situation
😮😧😡
I just wish that the team doesn't suffer much more due to Lea Michele's attitude. Doing a broadway show, many nights a week, is very taxing and it's not rare that it leads to very stressful moments, you need to create a decent space for everybody.
I'd venture with all the controversy and the beating her reputation has taken, she'll be on her best behavior... THIS time. It's the next project she does after this that will be the really interesting one.
@@Eviltwin531 Yeah. She would be dumb to show her true colors right now with the whole world watching. Whatever project she does after FG will give us a better idea if she's changed or not.
Apparently they will be rehearsing separately; Tova Feldshuh with the company as normal, but Lea Michele separate from everyone. I hope there is a clause that protects the cast from mistreatment.
Decent is a high bar to clear for Lea. Lol
@@Eviltwin531
If she really is as bad as people say I'd bet she'd last a month before going back to her old ways. A month is long enough to feel comfortable in her new surroundings, and if the show is well received then she'll see herself as the hero who "saved" the show and therefore deserves to do what she wants.
My takeaway from all this: there were legitimate reasons to criticize Feldstein's performance, none of which had to do with her weight. The fact that a lot of online discourse focused on Feldstein being plus-sized and criticizing Broadway's "wokeness" is both sickening and utterly unsurprising. That said, I feel like a lot of the "controversy" could have been avoided if Julie Benko had just taken on the role full time after Feldstein left. Not only was her performance praised, but- as far as I know- she doesn't have a reputation for being toxic and difficult to work with like Lea Michele does.
Hopefully Beanie is in a good place. She needs all the support from her loved ones now cause it's inevitable to not be affected by all that online hatred
She’s recently engaged. I really her upcoming wedding is providing the needed good escape for her.
Her family had influence so she could get the part according to NYC gossip. That's the most cruel part of all if true. There comes a time when you must save loved ones from humiliation
Clint Eastwood said you gotta know your limitations evidently nobody told Beanie hers.
Never ever thought I'd see Glee make headlines year later. Let alone an actual plot line on Glee becoming reality lmao. Life is truly stranger than fiction.
OMG, this does feel like an episode of Glee. 🤦♀️
@@mhawang8204 It will only get better if Lea Michele leaves early to pursue another project lmao
@@jellyrcw12 well it could happen since Scream Queens is rumored to film its third season
Glee is cursed
@@unkown7277 Not Rachel leaving for a cancelled show 😂
I must say the legend of how horrible Lea Michele is as a person and professional is fascinating! The entire thing feels like a 21st century version of the Patti Lupone/Andrew Lloyd Webber Sunset Blvrd debacle! (Whichi learned about from watching you!). Can’t wait to watch this!❤️👍🏾
Except Patti’s parents didn’t buy her the role of Norma Desmond and the show wasn’t a failed vanity project for her.
I've seen it compared to the casting drama for On the Twientieth Century, where the female lead missed a large number of performances and had stamina issues before leaving. In that case, though, it was the gifted understudy who ultimately took over the role. Not... this.
A star shouldn't be kind. They should be a self centred 'b***c'. S Lea's a shoe-in.
@@erinfee5104 Yes! Launching Judy Kaye's career as a notable musical theatre performer.
In a way, yeah, but patti and Andrew's beef was only between them and the producers, none of whom spent their entire careers treating everybody they ever worked with like shit
The fact that you had Julie Benko right there and you go with the Diva who has a history of abusing her cast and crew is like...
I do not understand. And no, you don't get to use her talent or her singing as a defense. I am not going to accept that as an excuse.
the ticket sales for her performances are the answer
Honestly i'd rather see her version than the others regardless of celebrity status and drama since Julie Benko seems to me a better fit for the role.
They're doing it for ticket sales, unfortunately. I saw Julie way back when she was in the Spring Awakening tour. She was just in the ensemble, but she was lovely. I feel like if they had marketed it the right way, they could have done a whole "understudy promoted, star in the making, Broadway baby" type thing.
Lea is just a better singer than Julie.
@@zackevans1103 Not a valid excuse.
I firmly believe that Lea shouldn’t be rewarded with the only thing she wants after being horrible to everyone.
I honestly do not feel she has the vocals to back the part up either. Most of her on Glee was auto tuned.
@@mistybrehmer9551 Is that why she sounded so awful? For years I've been trying to figure out why I can't listen to her without cringing.
She isn't the only person in Hollywood who is vicious towards others and she won't be the last.
She has the reputation of being an asshole, but she has the musical vocal chops that sells tickets.
@@mistybrehmer9551 lol what? Watch her live performances. If you want a recent one, watch her performance of My Man. She's Broadway-trained and starred in a hit Broadway show. Like, you can hate her for anything else but she is an extraordinary singer.
Correct. I hope that sales slump but people love drama and will definitely give a pass to toxicity and racism
Julie Belko was my big Broadway surprise in years when I watched the show in June. She could have easily pulled it off as the lead.
And she does. Every Thursday. I saw her too. I cried, she was excellent. And I've seen 43 performances on BwY since 1989
All drama aside I just wanted to say how excited I am for Tovah Feldshuh. I’ve always seen her as one of the great underrated performers of theater. She’s so talented and absolutely deserves this opportunity.
yesss! i only just recently discovered her because i started watching crazy ex girlfriend and then the casting came out- i’m excited to see what she’ll do!
RIGHT!!!! Literally the ONLY good thing to come out of this casting drama and the only thing I am excited for haha
She and Rachel bloom would've made for such a cool duet in funny girl
"Opportunity" seems like a strong word here 😂
I was lucky to attend the first preview in April. At first I felt underwhelmed by her singing, but then I realized that I was comparing her to Babs. Beanie is not Babs nor trying to imitate her. Beanie is her own person with her own sets of skills and talents. I personally enjoyed her performance and she killed her acting in this show. NGL, I wanted to go to the first preview to feel validated. I too, as a plus sized performer wants to see more representation on the stage, and not in the way that it has been in the past. I was so excited when Beanie was announced and full disclosure, I teared up when we first see her on that stage.
It just disaaponts me as a fellow fan that theater geek that we try to promote and encourage inclusivity and diversity but the second it goes sour, people turn to body-shaming and fatphobia in order to justify their feelings.
Personally, I'm glad I saw it when I did. I will not see it again.
Considering what I see from the community, I give the show until the new year.
Wouldn't you want to see a plus sized performer because she was perfect for the role and talented at that? Or would you prefer representation, full stop?
@@aiai-j7i they should have a black trans man with a limp to play the role. now THATS diversity!
So kids, the moral of the story is it's totally fine to be horrible, abusive and cruel as long as you don't commit the cardinal sin of being overweight. And also, understudies are the goat.
and another moral is. never forgive, if someone did someting wrong we should cast him/her out ? your logic is fuckedup
@@donnieptymcio She never owned up to her abuse/racism, and there's no evidence that it's stopped. So yeah, we should absolutely cast that bitch out.
Yes let's keep punishing Lea for the rest of her life. Let's hurt her even more. People like you are evil. Sorry I had to call it.
@@donnieptymcio Yes. It's bullshit to keep taking abuse from someone over and over. You are not owed anything if you can't even exhibit the most basic of civil behavior.
@@donnieptymcio if you’re referring to Michelle, this isn’t a one off for her. She has over a decade of documented abuse towards anyone she works with. She has no respect or concern for others. It’s not that she did something horrible once, it’s who she is as a person. Forgiveness and second chances should come to those who have not demonstrated any real change in their inexcusable behavior.
As a plus size person. I’m so tired of seeing other plus size women being dragged to hell and back bc of their weight. It’s exhausting. I love beanie and I feel so sorry she had to go through this.
😂 😂 😂 🤡
@@looloopomerania7988 Hey, the fuck is that supposed to mean tough guy?
GMAB -_-
She was perfect for the role
Then stop eating so much
So producers decided to go a different direction and brought in Lea Michele and the box office skyrocketed. I’m sure that is the first time ever on Broadway that has happened. Also, it’s been nine years since Glee left the air. Lea Michele is 37 married and has a child. Are we still acting like she is literally the same person from nine years ago. Social media holds the longest deepest grudges. Was Lea supposed to decline the chance to play a role she had wanted to play much of her life? 🤷🏼♂️
I believe, firmly, that Beanie Feldstein achieved so much in this role. It's not an easy one to act or to sing, and she acted the hell out of it. By all accounts that I've read and from the bootlegs I've seen, her stage presence and characterization was wonderful. It's just that she wasn't (quite) up to the songs. They are hell to sing and the show rises and falls on its lead. It's named Funny Girl for a reason. Did she fail? Nope. She achieved a lot of great things in this show and just because the box office wasn't there, doesn't mean she failed. Many factors are at played here, not the least of which are her absences, some of them *planned* absences. Word of mouth was okay and for a show this size, it needs to be INCREDIBLE. It is a horrible truth in theater that sometime talent alone is not enough. Beanie is supremely talented, but is unknown. Hopefully that will change and that he star power will only rise. It will be interesting to analye her career three or four years down the line.
where did you find bootleg? im from Brazil and really wanted to see
@@user-bc7gy8xu9z good luck finding them. They get taken down almost as soon as they get put up.
Fanny Brice was real person. So is this play about her, or about Barbra Streisand ? Because if it is later, I struggle to see what is so interesting about this play. I mean if all what people want see is good singing in Barbra Streisand style, maybe they should make musical about Barbra Streisand.
@@IamAlmostRealWitch, it’s a musical about Fanny Brice and while there are many people who can sing the rôle, Beanie Feldstein is not one of them.
sadly, the Box office is the ONLY thing that matters now.
Ugh, they would have been fine if they just gave the lead to Julie Benko from the start. She is amazing in the role. It's much more exciting to watch someone *become* a star on Broadway, especially when they deserve it.
I agree. I know I'm old, but I never heard of Beanie Feldstein prior to the Funny Girl casting. I think they overestimated her ability to sell tickets long term, and it didn't take long for word to get out that she was grossly miscast.
@@mshalo1822
That seems to be the case.
And I can't help but look at Broadway producers to be just as money-hungry as the producers in big Hollywood. It was all at the expense of Beanie and Julie, the way I see it.
Couldn’t agree with you more! I saw Julie and she was phenomenal. She deserves the role but unfortunately doesn’t have the name recognition the producers want to book tickets - BUT, just wait, she will!
Is Julie Benko the understudy? If she is I want to see her in the role. Aren't they keeping her for 2 performances a week?
They could of marketed it like Sutton fosters rise, everyone loves the drama of an 'unknown' understudy stepping up and taking a lead role
You touched on something that I feel is a core issue with ANY Funny Girl revival-----the pure and simple fact that Jule Styne wrote Fanny's part specifically for one of the greatest voices EVER---Barbra Streisand--and that is an impossibly huge Cadillac for any other singer to kick uphill, as it were. Added to this impossibilty, the show's book is fundamentally flawed, only partly because the original writers had to rearrange or just plain leave out so much of Fanny's life story. One, and only one, example is that in real life, Fanny had already been married and divorced once by the time she met Nick Arnstein, so she was no t the blushing ingenue the show makes her out to be. Also, Fanny's real life was kind of short on happy endings---even in the original, Nick leaves and divorces Fanny at the end.
Funny Girl should have been left as a Broadway one-of, a flawed show that really only worked as a showcase for a legend on the rise. Literally no one wants to see more of Lea Michelle impersonating Barbra Streisand. Kill the lights, strike the sets, take down the marquee, and let's all move on before any more money gets wasted.
Also also, lemme get this right----over $2000 to see Lea Michelle re-hash her best moments on Glee?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 bye flop.
That seat price increase is.... yikes.
you know what they say about fools and their money ;)
@@1957DLT stunt casting at its finest!
Well I’ve seen two excellent revivals of Funny Girl over the years: first at Chichester Festival Theatre in England with the funny/moving actress Samantha Spiro and then in Paris with Christina Bianco in 2019 at the Theatre Marigny. I didn’t care for the West End revival which the current Broadway production is based on with its revised book by Harvey Fierstein.
BYE FLOP
Streisand was NOT unknown in 1964: she had already appeared on broadway, and had released her first LP. Also, the score was written long before she was cast as Fanny. She had also gotten the Drama Critic's Circle award and a Tony nomination before "Funny Girl" for her first broadway show "I Can Get it for You Wholesale."
My heart breaks for Beanie, honestly. It really bothers me that not much people know of Lea's abusive behaviour. Im from Argentina, and local musical theatre outlets really fall short of properly communicating Broadway news and controversies. They very much celebrated "Rachel from Glee replacing some unknown plus size actress".
Anyway, this was an excellent video as always. Your channel is one of my favourites on youtube!! Thank you for everything.
I feel so bad for Beanie, it just feels like she wasn't supported enough during all of this. I do hope that maybe after the public shaming that Lea's changed for the better, guess we'll find out because it seems like this show is as well documented as could be that one bad moment on her part will be shared in seconds.
Shame of any kind rarely makes someone better, it just makes them better at hiding what they're told to be ashamed of.
Even if she didn't changed. At least fake it until she makes it. And by that I mean being nominated for a Tony and winning it for this role. She needs to play nice because this is the age of social media and people always spill the tea.
How? How was she not supported? The producers stood by her throughout and then be decided to leave her contract early to tank the show because the was the potential humiliation of being replaced by someone better
@@bigred8432not better. Just more famous and prettier. Lea Michele is a bitchy, spoiled, narcissistic, person who throws tantrums whenever she isn't the center of attention
@@bigred8432exactly! Beanie and an untalented pig.
Beanie deserved better than all those hateful comments. A lot of the criticism feels rooted in fatphobia. It's disgusting and exhausting, I feel so bad for her.
I did not realise so many people feared being fat its almost like its unhealthy and will kill you and should not be glorified.
OK Karen. She can't sing the role, she can't act the role, if she were 120# she would have sucked in the part.
Stop saying "fatphobia", it's not a real thing!
Not being able to perform in the role has nothing to do with her girth. I am in many online Broadway appreciation groups, and I never saw any negativity posted about Beanie's weight, only her inability to perform.
@@vickimanager Exactly! I would feel horrible if people felt such pity for me based on how I looked. She is a talented actress, no doubt, but she simply was not up to leading a role that required singing.
It’s so weird to me that Lea is seen as a shoe in for Funny Girl just because she sang a few of the shows songs in Glee.
Glee and Funny Girl are two completely different productions, in two completely different mediums. The comedy is completely different, and yes Lea can do satirical, OTT comedy like Glee but I genuinely don’t think she can pull off genuine, charismatic, self deprecating, heartbreaking, quick comedy like Funny Girl.
It's also because Lea started in Broadway so "Glee" just showcased how she would handle the vocals of songs from "Funny Girl."
You're right. I mean, I think Lea has the vocal chops, but I can't say I've ever seen her be particularly funny
@@MsDefectiveToaster i don’t know the comedy of the funny girl musical, but in glee and scream queens Lea Michele is often extremely funny. She’s not funny in the way the above commenter describes though so I think it’s a valid concern.
Lea isn't only seen as a 'shoe in' for funny girl because she sang a few of the shows songs in glee, it's because at this current time, she is one of the few people who have the vocal abilities to be compared to Barbra. She can perform the whole funny girl score, and extremely well unlike Beanie who apparently struggles with 'the music that makes me dance' as well as 'who are you now' (from reviews ive seen).
yes but to be honest she killed it specially My Man
I really appreciate a facts based breakdown with actual investigative practices! It honestly feels like a long time since I’ve seen someone deliver their own news on popular culture, it’s mostly all recycling and writers room jokes. But this felt like a return to investigative journalism, maintaining the cadence of an article read, but with more nuanced tone and interaction with the visual aids. Seriously great!
FYI: The songs were written over a year or more BEFORE Streisand got the part. They wanted Eydie Gorme, but she wouldn't do it without her husband (Steve Lawrence) as Nicky Arnstein. They even offered the part to Carol Burnett, who turned it down because she said they needed a Jewish girl for the part. Streisand was at least the 5th actress who was in line for the part. (from Wikipedia)
Im a huge fan of Beanie and think she is such a gifted actress and this has been so heartbreaking. I want women like her to be celebrated and the public’s reaction to her has been so disappointing
Because she can’t sing the score.
Beanie shouldn't have accepted the role. If she'd been able to sing it properly without sounding like a cut-rate high school production cast member, everything would have gone just fine.
@@Gobble_de_Goop she’s a great singer and actress. She was miscast, most people would have taken the role, but in no way did she deserve the vitriol spewed at her. She worked incredibly hard but it wasn’t enough. That’s all, she was miscast, and people turned it away from her ability as a singer toward her appearance.
Beanie Feldstein was doomed from the beginning. I hope that after this production closes, that Funny Girl goes away for good. It's never been a critical darling and the only good thing to come out of it is Streisand performance. Some songs were literally written for her. When Bob Fosse was almost brought on board to direct the show, he told Styne and Merrill that "People" should be cut. Merrill explained that Streisand would make that song a hit and that's why they were keeping it. Nobody, other than Barbra Streisand, can do this score justice. Lea Michelle is very talented but I have a hard time believing that she's going to revitalize a show that was never good to begin with. Plus she's very clearly a bully and her behavior should not be rewarded. I hope Feldstein continues to do Broadway because she's very clearly a talented person. I'd love to maybe see her do a revival of a prestigious play or a golden-age musical that's a little more within her range.
She was a lead in the film adaptation of Humans (I think that's what it's called?? A domestic drama that won a Pulitzer)
@@isabellamorris7902 I think that she would be really good in "How I Learned to Drive." I think she could bring an innocence to Li'l Bit that would make the story a little more tragic than it already is. I would also like to see her as Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. For musicals, I think that she would work really well in a show that was a Broadway flop entitled "Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It)." It was written by the guy who wrote the song "It's Raining Men." I think if someone redid the book and added in some more songs from his catalog, it could be a really good vehicle for her. It's about how the title character, who's canonically a plus-sized woman, decides to make a career for herself in Hollywood and the struggles that come along with it.
Honestly the only true issue with this situation is how Beanie was treated throughout, because I must agree that her singing for this role specifically was not up to par, no matter how fun and funny she is. It's a hard part that needs someone who isn't fresh to this type of broadway music. Beanie should have never been made a spectacle of, especially because of her weight or anything pertaining to her looks. But her being replaced was just a matter of time, to be honest? It's just awful this all happened the way that it did. I hope for the sake of the production that Lea can keep herself professional. Maybe she's been working on herself the last few years? 😬
I think maybe the producers were banking on her comedic talent to be the focus instead of the songs. That's probably why they rewrote the book. But that was never going to be the case
Fanny Brice was real person. So is this play about her, or about Barbra Streisand ? Because if it is later, I struggle to see what is so interesting about this play. I mean if all what people want see is good singing in Barbra Streisand style, maybe they should make musical about Barbra Streisand.
@@IamAlmostRealWitch over the years it’s kind of become more about Barbara than Fanny unfortunately
@@IamAlmostRealWitch Good point 👍🏻
@@IamAlmostRealWitch totally agree
I'm just saying. A small detail that no one is talking about. Jane Lynch ironically is leaving the same time that Lea Michelle stars in. Considering she played the most toxic character on Glee, and she's choosing to leave before Michelle stars. I believe that is EXTREMELY telling.
And one year later I can tell you that this is wrong, Jane Lynch praised her and supported her and said that she regretted leaving the show early and not working whit Lea. It's just that people love hating on others to speculate on everything.
i understand a lot of the criticisms about beanies singing but i can’t believe anyone can honestly sit there and say that she didn’t look and act wonderfully for the part. it’s always hard when a play is based on a real life person because there’s a temptation to just cast clones of that person but her style and her vibes were perfect for fanny in my opinion.
also just to be clear i love beanies singing this part is just really really hard and specific vocally a lot of amazing singers could never sing this part
I personally can’t wait until we’re a year or two past this show’s natural run and we get a What Really Happened style breakdown. I suspect that there is WAY more chaos and drama happening top to bottom of this production. I don’t think Beanie was the right choice to lead the show, but she gave it her best effort and one middling casting choice does not sink or swim an entire show. Beanie’s mindset on weight and self-esteem is genuinely motivational and I’ve always appreciated that. Lea is a drama magnet and I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever’s festering under the surface gets dragged out once she’s there.
Actually Y’all just want to hate Lea when she still can grow and prove you wrong. She’s super professional as far as making sure the show goes on, at least.
@@dahliadaydream “Lea attracts drama” does not equal “I hate Lea.” She is a very qualified professional singer and, yes, understands that the show must go on. I guess I’m trying to figure out what part of my comment says I hate her- I tried to make it clear that the drama is likely coming from *everywhere* and that one lead isn’t going to make or break an entire show.
@@averyeml Actually, and in this case most specifically, a lead will make or break a show. That' why all of this is happening in the first place. This musical is not an ensemble piece and was originally crafted to showcase Ms. Streisand's talents-it probably wouldn't have lasted a week in 1964 without her.
as a brit: bloody hell broadway ticket prices scare me
Seriously. I'm going to London in Sept and wanted to hit up the West End and I was so pleasantly surprised by ticket prices there!
I spent a week in London and have been in the business for 30+ years. I got to hang out with a bunch of West end equity actors and they are not paid anywhere near what American Equity actors make. So I think that might have something to do with the low ticket costs.
Take the ticket pricing in this video with a grain of salt. The same show a week after Lea Michele's debut as Fanny Brice, the highest priced tickets are $269, bottoming out at $69 at times. Even for the September 6th show, there are tickets available way cheaper than WitW cited. I'm not aware of rush or lottery tickets at this time for Funny Girl, but they can further reduce the price of entry.
I rarely pay more than £15 pounds for a London theatre ticket. You can even see shows for free with a bit of prep work.
Yeah i went to the play Mojo , with Rupert grint and Ben whishaw for 9 💷 and it was worth it
The comments about her appearance are truly baffling to me. The big part of the reason why roles like Fanny or Elphaba or some of the cast from RENT churn out these stunning powerhouse performers is because they allow for atypical looking actors in the role. The whole POINT of Fanny Brice is that she isn't traditionally beautiful.🤷♀️
Holy hamburgers! All this drama is not only toxic for the whole namesake/ cast involved, but hugely disgusting and out of touch. I will never be able to afford either price points in this video and neither would most of America! Last I checked, $2300 is rent for a shared apt in many areas of the 5 burrows of NYC. This argument is obnoxious!
This is definitely an interesting story, but please also make a video about Paradise Square closing-there’s some obvious misconduct that’s not being discussed enough amidst all the publicity surrounding Funny Girl. The cast and crew of Paradise Square deserve a video on what happened to their show (and their paychecks)!
She got hired for not being Babs. She got fired for not being Babs. So basically she got fired for doing what she got hired to do. Hopefully the Black actors can have their wigs locked away when Lea is in the building.
Shame on you. Stop promoting the myth that Lea Michele is racist. I don't believe that for ONE second. A diva probably. A racist. NO F'in way.
I see your shade, and am loving it
But then Lea will just shit on their head
If they put their names on it Lea won’t be able to read it
That's dumb
Really enjoyed your breakdown… but all these discussions really gloss over the role fatphobia had to play. If it was internalized or outward, fatphobia poisoned Beanie’s chances for success. How much easier was it for them to get rid of her since she did not “fit the leading lady mold”? Part of me thinks her body even influenced the reviews she got, because our society is naturally hateful to fatness and what it is associated with.
So many people glossed over the fact that even if her singing was slightly lacking for songs created for Barbara - her acting and stage presence and everything else was FANTASTIC; but people just really get pissed off when they see anyone outside their own conventions of attractiveness getting any limelight. It's disgusting
Personally I’m glad fatphobia exists because it is one more reason for people to take care of their bodies other than just the fact that it gives them longer life.
@Sappho don’t be dumb.
@@masonguthrie1257 don't be an asshole
Its ironic, society hates fatness but worships fast food culture and makes fun of healthy eating. Can't win.
what i found really interesting is that with Beanie, a lot of the advertising was a “new take on Fanny”. and made a huge deal about making it into something new, not just an attempted barbara reprisal.
but with lea, i mean if you take one look at her performing any funny girl song you can see how much she emulates Barbara, she’s not Lea Michelle singing as Fanny, she’s Lea Michelle singing as Barbara
for them to look past the selling point of the revival; a “fresh take” on funny girl, as well as a racist and abusive reputation that the general public knows well, it makes me wonder how badly they needed lea michele.
drama sells tickets, people are undoubtedly going to go see the show just to see what she actually brings to the table after all is said and done.
but drama doesn’t sell for long, eventually everyone who wants to see it just for the spectacle will and everybody else simply won’t care. i wonder what will happen then…
I love what you said about drama not selling for long! To me it's a really weird casting choice, even for stunt casting, because she basically has a short chance to prove she has changed and can be worked with. But if ANY drama starts getting out and there's backlash, that could hurt the show quick!
Pretty much everybody who's ever done Funny Girl as the lead was emulating Barbra though. It's impossible to separate her from the role since it was tailored to her.
Lea is better than Barbara. By the way, no one ever mentions Barbara’s bad behavior through the years, her diva mentality, her mistreatment of others. That is ignored because there was no social media then.
I've been subbed for a long time (like, over a year), but somehow have never watched a video of yours until now. Holy cow. You knocked my socks off. This was so engrossing and fascinating. Bravo.
it's actually so disgusting how people are so ready to jump on fatshaming and essentially bullying Beanie, if you want to critic Beanie or anyone else for that matter on their performance, or who they are as a person, leave their fucking body and appearance out of it. good for Beanie for leaving, she's great and I hope she finds better collaborators than these clown ass producers who pushed her under the bus when the scenario they set up failed.
I'd be really interested in hearing more about Jane Lynch departure as well as Samantha Ware's posts in regards to the Lea Michele behind the scenes rumours
Sorry I cry foul on any comments from Samantha Ware.
@@jackhitchcock8060 genuinely curious why? (Regards to the lea Michele or just in general her)
@@gracestoneman8 because she literally only come out and make noise whenever Lea does something and I mean anything. As if she wants her to disappear from this world with her baby.
Maybe because thats what seeing her bully be rewarded for her poor attitude feels like. I do understand her and it's her choice whether to accept an "apology" or carry that grudge
@@luxusken05 Samantha wasnt the only one, every Glee fan knew from the begging of the show about her attitude due to rumors and coments from extras, Samanthah only confirm what was already very well known, and almost all the cast directly or indirectamente have supported her on that even some of the originals on the show
I really wanted Julie Benko to become the new lead full time and end up doing a Sutton Foster. I’m not really sure why they cast Lea when her rep is terrible and her alleged racism is not great and nobody can tell me there aren’t other actors with name recognition who can sing and act the role. I feel really sorry for Beanie tbh, I know nepotism got her the role and she wasn’t suited for it but it must hurt to have such awful reviews.
OTOH what should the reviewers have done? I know it is only a tiny sample but I saw the official commercial for Funny Girl. It was only a minute long and they purposely only have an instrumental for most of it, but the end is Beanie singing the last couple of lines from Don't Rain on My Parade. Keep in mind that this is the professionally made commercial where you could have her do it over and over and you could use special mixing equipment, and STILL she didn't sound good. I can't imagine what she would sound like live where there is no second take. So if you were a reviewer would you say somebody was good if they weren't , to spare their feelings when people are paying hundreds for each ticket and deserve to know the truth? I also can't help feeling that if you are going to benefit from nepotism you have to be prepared for bad reviews if you aren't that great. Nobody who isn't your dad is obligated to tell you you're awesome, you have to EARN that from strangers.
To be clear though, I agree that nobody should care about her weight. If she could sing the part I'd be behind her.
I don't get it either because even though Lea might be "good stunt casting" she comes with sooooo much baggage. All eyes are going to be on her behavior and any drama unfolding. We already know she can sing the songs (not exactly sure how great she's gonna do otherwise but...). If any backlash started to happen it could really impact ticket sales big time, esp with the price to see Lea in the role. I'd bet Julie ends up with the role in the long run. Lea wants to have her moment in the spotlight with it, but 6 shows a week, doing the whole role- not just the hit songs- and having to carry your reputation well with it is going to be a LOT for her...plus having a failing show on your back.
Cry
If I wanted to see Lea Michelle do a Streisand imitation, I'd just watch practically every song she did on Glee. Oh, but that's what my fast forward is for...so I don't have to watch her sing on Glee.
I feel bad for the criticism Beanie got that involved her looks. I saw some horrible things said about her. I especially feel bad that Julie Benko wasn't allowed to take over the role completely.
As a Glee fan its wild to see how many storylines have come true in real life. Great video as always.
And not helping matters is that by the time the cast recording came out for this revival, it had Lea and Tovah as Fanny and her mom, instead of Beanie and Jane.
As someone who did an undergraduate degree in film production and had to work with a lot of undergraduate performing arts students as well as other people on my course I’ve come the conclusion that 30% of the people in the entertainment industry are toxic or driven by ego.
Agreed. As someone who lives in a smaller country and I didn’t even really see any part of it I felt grateful that I don’t have to put up with people of arts. I actually prefer my professors’ lectures to actors’ talking about their life and what they think is important etc. for hours in the name of an “acting” class.
Jeesh, really Sherlock, what a great observation! 😂
@@aiai-j7i what I’m kind of saying is this is why I have never been bothered by people at those levels being assholes to each other I’m more shocked if they aren’t
I saw Beanie in Funny Girl and really enjoyed her, and Jane Lynch for that matter. In fact, they weren't the problem with the show. The book, and the show itself, just can't keep up with how much Broadway has changed since Streisand. Not to mention so much of Fanny's story was never there to begin with.
Honestly, my favorite thing about this whole video is how dang happy Jane Lynch looks on the bts footage.
I am looking forward to the 'All About Eve'/'Applause' reboot focussing on Beanie, Lea and the whole bloody mess that is Funny Girl 2022.
You know what's sad? Fanny Bryce would ACTUALLY be perfect for someone who is overweight because it breaks that "conventional beauty" barrier that Hollywood/Broadway (let's face it, the two are practically the same at this point) loves to cling onto. However, I agree with a lot of other commenters that whoever they casted should've been able to belt. Personally, I believe nepotism had a bit of an impact on casting but that's just me...
FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT!!! Beanie was miscast but it’s absolutely NO excuse for the public to be fatphobic imo.
My mom just saw Beanie in Funny Girl yesterday, and said that her acting was really strong, but her vocals weren’t up to par. It’s really hard being compared to Barbara Streisand, and showing up as a film actress for a stint on Broadway. I’m not a musical theater person myself, but it sounds like Beanie might not have been the right person for this role with the scrutiny in her singing, but it’s hard to hear that she’s being lambasted by the press and in social media. Broadway don’t the end of the world, can we please give her a break?
People are paying $159 a seat and more. What about their right to get value?
I say cut the price to$29.50 and I' ll overlook her bad singing. Not. I bought Tix for when Beanie Feldstein was at a wedding. Julie Benko was fantastic.
Honestly good for Beanie taking what power she had left in this situation and leaving early. I never watched Glee but know about Lea's behavior and hope her attitude doesn't totally ruin things for her costars and the crew as a whole.
I feel terrible for Ramin too.
Lea had a baby, motherhood changes people for the better.
@@stafonvoncamron
Shhh... Don't tell them that sort of thing... Never anger the Morality Police™
@@stafonvoncamron if you think that's like... a biological fact or something, I'm a bit concerned about who taught you biology. Cause if it's not a biological fact (which it isn't), it's not as certain as you seem to be framing it as.
@@stafonvoncamron I guess, if an egotistical bullying person were to become a parent - they wouldn't be Egotistical about themselves. They would be egoistic about Baby that they have
I saw a lot of women, who thought, that they are the center of a Universe, just because they are mothers, so no. Motherhood not always changes person for good
And now we wait for the 2 hour documentary on Paradise Square
I’m excited to watch your take on this. I would also love to hear your thoughts about the situation with Paradise Square.
Yes me too. I feel like that could be a full proper episode (almost like Rebecca).
Truly the Rebecca of this decade.
I already told my family not to gift me tickets for my birthday in November.... cause I DO NOT want to see that woman!
Holy shit, I'm not even halfway through the video and my mind has been blown already. I learned so much, thanks for doing research and sharing it!
Serious question, because I’m not a huge theater person: why on God’s green Earth is this show charging +$2000 for Lea Michele’s first performance? I know that she’s a famous actress and all, but even for something as prestigious as Broadway, this feels overpriced.
The show is not. Those are resale tickets that someone bought and is now trying to scalp.
If the demand is high, the price will be higher as well
I believe it's more so the ticket buying system/program they're using. Usually, prices will start out fairly reasonable for broadway that is. it depends on the popularity of the show most times. If it's a smaller less popular show tickets are usually more accessible and thus more affordable. When tickets go on sale and there's a lot of demand for it and they're selling out, the program automatically hikes the prices up. This happens a lot on sites like Ticketmaster (which people complain about constantly). You can even read articles about the prices for tickets to a BTS concert. It really sucks. I just saw an article today about Bruce Springsteen fans outraged that tickets were selling for $4-5k. Long story short, it's not really the theater itself always setting these INSANE prices, usually, it's the work of algorithms and all that other BS feeding off of demand and traffic. Sorry, I hope that explained enough.
Even Hamilton was going to prices like that too. It's all around unfortunate for theater fans because it just makes musical theater inaccessible and frames it as if it's only something for the uber-wealthy.
@@memorian8472 Broadway overall is so prohibitively expensive it baffles me. Especially since they simultaneously refuse to film and stream the shows for a wider audience.
Let's be clear: fat shaming and fatphobia in any capacity is NEVER ok!
Beanie, and anyone, should not have to deal with this nonsense.
Why? Obesity is a drain on society and the public at large!
I agree.
I hope to see more of Beanie on other stage plays/musicals and also movies.
"Fatphobia", lol! Obesity is a disease. Shall we represent heroin addicts too now?
Man, my heart breaks for Beanie, because she're like perfect for the role of Fanny Brice. From the little snippet I saw -and granted, it's not much to go off of- yeah, her singing is not great, and yeah, that is an issue in the context of a musical, but idk, they could've cheated a little, re-arranged the score to make it easier for her. If the original score was written specifically for Streisand, I don't think it would be that outrageous to tweak it for your new leading lady.
And I am convinced that critics latched on to her weaker vocal performance as a way to excuse their fatphobia, because I am sure the acting parts were flawless
Honestly nobody can deny that Lea will be successful at the part. Nobody can take her talent away from her. That aside it’s the way she went about it and how she’s treated ppl in the past. She’s a mother now hopefully she’s learned something from this
she's just a singer and actress, she is not really that powerful. All she did now was sending some congratulations on insta or twitter to Beanie? It's the producers who look at who will attract the biggest paying audiences (make them most money) and it's that money that decides who will be cast or replaced
It’s a shame Beanie was mistreated the way she was.
How was she mistreated? She got to play the role, on Broadway. She opened the first ever Broadway revival of a show, that she dreamed of being in and she was given all the same support and chances as anyone else in the same situation. The fact that she ended up not being very good and the public opinion of her performance, was that it wasn’t up to standard is just the way things work. You get out on stage and you take that chance. She hasn’t been treated badly, she just wasn’t good enough. And that’s ok. Nobody can rewind time and take this away from her, she will always have this experience
I feel so so sorry for Beanie I really do! I also hope you do a deep dive into ALW Cinderella because that needs to have a deep dive into it!
Great job! Could you also do a video on the recent Paradise Square controversy? Two Broadway scandals in the same time period!
So the original fanny brice was about triumphing over her appearance (as a comedic actor), but the producers just threw that message out the window with their scandal?
With respect, I don't understand why this is considered a scandal or a fiasco. Someone wasn't extremely popular in a role, and the producers replaced her with someone who could make them more money. That's the entertainment industry. That's every, single day in the entertainment industry. As for Ms. Michelle being a diva- again, that's the entertainment industry. I'm not attacking anyone. What is being described is just normal life in the film and theatre (song and dance) industry.
honestly, if they weren't seriously considering dropping beanie early on, then they SHOULD have been.. i don't believe for one minute that the producers/directors couldn't anticipate the critical reception once they were well into rehearsals.. say what you want about lloyd weber, the producers should have taken at least one page from his book when it came to dunaway in 'sunset'.. as soon as it was obvious beanie's vocal abilities weren't going to miraculously improve they should have quietly dismissed her before there was ever a preview citing any made up public excuse to help her save face and afford themselves time to scramble to line up a replacement before the curtain ever went up.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
According to the article the producing team was split, one part wanted to stick with her while the other wanted her out ever since rehearsals . I agree that the should have replaced her way earlier into the process
Though Lea Michele obviously loves this role and sings it well, I personally didn't think she would fit it simply because I never saw her as "funny". Even before her bad behavior come out, some other people from Glee stood out as more witty or cracking jokes or just easy going in a way Michele didn't.
Now with her reputation today, I don't understand why a director would want a diva like that in their cast. Even if she isn't "that bad" or whatever any production (musical, tv, teather, movie...) is affected by the leading role, for good or bad, and should really consider that.
I mean yeah but two things one the tickes she is going to sell will be crazy and two her behavioral problems were from a long time ago and a lot has changed also as a side note while I am sure she could be hard to work with back then I am also sure that she was not as bad as everyone claimed she was.
Her reputation from 10 years ago.
@@jackhitchcock8060 your reputation is your reputation until you prove that it's not. It doesn't just go away because time passes. Especially when it was SO bad and there were SO many reports of it.
I feel bad for Beanie. She did not sound good in the promos leading up to the opening for Funny Girl, and it wasn’t completely her fault. They could’ve done something to accommodate the fact that the songs were too high for her. They lower songs for performers all the time. I was really rooting for her but it felt like they were setting her up to fail from day one.
I think Beanie’s enthusiasm is wonderful and she really gave it her all, but vocally she just wasn’t strong enough for this role. However, I truly don’t think Lea should’ve been their next choice. Beanie’s understudy deserved it so much more.
I got to be an extra on Glee once for a few hours and got a tiny glimpse of Lea Michelle's bad behavior but she definitely is extremely talented. I'd like to think that people can change but that doesn't mean people have to accept them if their behavior was as bad as hers is said to be.
I’ve been waiting for this. Broadway Reddit is having a field day
A critic made a Monica Lewinsky adjacent joke? Fire that person. That is not okay.
Not so much a critic, more of just an online commenter that writer Meg Masseron encountered in her research.
@@WaitintheWings thanks for the clarification. I'm unsure if that's better or worse though.
@@katherinealvarez9216 you do know that Beanie played Monica Lewinsky in I think it was a movie (didn''t see it but heard of it). It isn't like bringing her up is out of left field.
@@jacquelinecallejas1390 in Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story series funnily enough.
@@Dazreil Ah, thanks for that info. That IS pretty funny. Now I picture some event where Ryan Murphy and everyone he's worked with get invited and he has to interact with both Beanie and Lea at the same time.
Am I the only one that feels like the whole revival was just so rushed. For a show that had not been revived in decades it seems like this particular production was set up just to put on *anything* and it reflects in not just the casting but the production overall. Plus I know that training can not completely make up for a lack of abilities but I think Beanie could have done better with more practice in the role, they didnt even do out of town trials I believe. Either way they dropped the ball in every conceibable way and insetad of broadway keeping the promises of "a new and more fair workplace for everyone" that they had made during the pandemic it's just regressing to its old habits. Like this coupled with the paradise square drama is just a horrible reflection of the hipocrisy of the industry
Honestly, I learned from this video that THIS production was a big hit in London before the pandemic and immediately prior to the production Rosie O'Donnell was hinting she was doing it in the spring of 2020, so I don't think it was rushed, I think it was delayed.
@@jackhitchcock8060 You have a point !! didnt think to correlate the rosie rumours with a posible delay but you are right about that. Still, I've seen parts of the recording of the london production and while I haven't seen the broadway one it looks... different. But maybe that's just the aesthetics and the book remaineed the same on broadway
Somebody should write a Broadway musical about all this wacky drama.
let’s cast this now. who should play lea michelle?
Ngl, a lot of behind-the-scenes drama of Broadway musicals can be turned into great Broadway musicals themselves omg. Especially Carrie, and Spider Man Turn off the Dark.
@@poetrymafia27 barba streisend
Professional vocalist/performer here. This whole thing makes me sad. I think the producers and casting directors really failed Beanie and the entire production here. Beanie is very talented but honestly not a good fit for this role vocally. If she were in a contemporary show that did not have the reputation that Funny Girl has, her vocal faults would've been much less visible because we wouldn't be comparing her constantly to literal icons of the theatre world.
I'm really hoping that Beanie's early departure is a relief for her. I can't imagine the amount of pressure she's been under and the horribly abusive behavior she must have endured online and offline. She deserves to move on and find success elsewhere after all this, somewhere where people will recognize her talent. Not to mention her humanity.
I have to agree. The producers and direction made a mistake and Beanie should have never been cast for this role. Not to say she isn't talented, but this kind of role isn't for her. Putting her in this position is setting her up for failure. The actual criticism of her performance is legitimate, but the harassment isn't. It's terrible she has to suffer because the suits upstairs made a bad call.
Honestly I would have thought that paradise square was the bigger controversy. It’s definitely the biggest scandal since Rebecca.
The truly damning context here, RE the production team, is that Lea was an extremely obvious choice and it's kinda hard to imagine them NOT casting her intitially, except her reputation. She was set up for the role in front of an audience of millions - this doesn't reflect on Beanie in any way, but it does make one wonder why they considered anyone besides Lea. Their given reasons for hiring Beanie were totally valid - representation absolutely does matter and it was great seeing a fat Jewish woman in a lead role - but I don't think that truly answers the question of why they *didn't* hire an actor who was %110 teed up from her past career and extremely enthused about the role.
Makes the whole thing feel a little like a cruel switcheroo designed to avoid other actors not wanting to work with a known nightmare lead.
That's actually a really good point. They knew they couldn't cast Lea from the beginning, so they created the conditions under which "they had no choice".
@@mannahatta_mannahatta That's an interesting take...
I've never been so excited for a video in my life
stop. because EVERYTHING about this; down to the music playing in the background, Lea Michelle clips playing as well as Beanie just SCREAMSSSS a WHOLE Glee episode and I'm WHEEZINNGGGG
If they wanted to cast an unknown actor they should’ve cast an unknown actor with incredible vocal skills and done open auditions. Beanie also got this through nepotism she was just a terrible choice
That’s a really good point.
Agreed, however it doesn't excuse the awful hate she received