Beanie Feldstein Will Exit Broadway's Funny Girl This Month

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Broadway News Beanie Feldstein Will Exit Broadway's Funny Girl This Month

Feldstein was previously scheduled to exit the revival in September.

By Margaret Hall

July 10, 2022

Ramin Karimloo, Beanie Feldstein, and Jared Grimes Matthew Murphy

Beanie Feldstein will depart Broadway's Funny Girl revival earlier than expected. After initially announcing September 25 as her final performance, Feldstein announced July 10 that she would be exiting the production July 31. Feldstein announced the new departure date via Instagram, with the following statement.

"Playing Fanny Brice on Broadway has been a lifelong dream of mine, and doing so for the last few months has been a great joy and true honor. Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated. I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew. The people I have had the great joy of bringing Funny Girl to life with every night, both on and off the stage, are all remarkably talented and exceptional humans and I hope you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st."

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A post shared by Beanie Feldstein (@beaniefeldstein)

Information on replacement casting is expected July 11 at 1 PM ET, as per a tweet from the production.

Funny Girl, which premiered on Broadway in 1964, features a score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, and a book by Isobel Lennart, newly adapted by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein for this revival. The original production propelled a young Barbra Streisand to international fame; she would reprise her stage performance in the 1968 film adaptation, winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the process. The score introduced such standards as "I'm the Greatest Star," "People," "Don't Rain On My Parade," and "The Music That Makes Me Dance."

In addition to Feldstein, Jane Lynch, Ramin Karimloo, and Jared Grimes, the company includes Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld, Ephie Aardema as Mrs. Nadler, Debra Cardona as Mrs. Meeker, Toni DiBuono as Mrs. Strakosh, Martin Moran as Tom Keeney, and Julie Benko as the standby for Fanny Brice. Benko has gone on as Fanny several times throughout the run, including during Feldstein's recent bout with COVID-19.

The ensemble comprises Amber Ardolino, Daniel Beeman, Kurt Csolak, Leslie Donna Flesner, Afra Hines, Masumi Iwai, Aliah James, Stephen Mark Lukas, John Thomas Manzari, Katie Mitchell, Justin Prescott, Mariah Reives, and Leslie Blake Walker. Rounding out the company are standbys Liz McCartney and Jeremiah James, and swings Colin Bradbury, John Michael Fiumara, Danielle Kelsey, and Alicia Lundgren.

The production is directed by Michael Mayer, who leads a creative team that includes choreography by Ellenore Scott, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, music supervision and direction by Michael Rafter, scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kevin Adams, sound design by Brian Ronan, and hair design by Campbell Young Associates. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.

The production also includes orchestrations by Chris Walker; dance, vocal, and incidental music arrangements by Alan Williams; additional arrangements by Carmel Dean and David Dabbon; music coordination by Seymour Red Press and Kimberlee Wertz; and vocal supervision by Liz Caplan.