Broadway Drama: Beanie Feldstein Abruptly Quits ‘Funny Girl’ But Some Believe She Knew She Was Going To Be Fired!
If you’re a Broadway fan, you may have heard about the drama surrounding Beanie Feldstein’s leading performance as Fanny Brice in the hit play, Funny Girl. People were questioning the decision to cast Beanie in the play very early on, basically saying she only got the role due to her already being a star in the movie world.
People didn’t believe she had the talent to fill the shoes of Barbra Streisand, the original Fanny Brice. And unfortunately, it looks like the haters were right because the show has been receiving poor reviews from critics.
The NY Post wrote that Beanie “barely muddles through the beloved songs,” and did not give a Broadway-caliber performance.
New York magazine noted similar complaints:
In song after song, Feldstein’s voice lets her down. Piercing and unpleasant when it gets any higher than her chest, fading and pitchy when it descends even a few steps, it’s simply not a sound you expect to hear on Broadway.
Due to poor reviews, ticket sales have been declining and producers are getting anxious. Beanie’s contract was supposed to be good for a full year. She wasn’t set to leave the show until April 2023.
But behind-the-scenes, producers had been trying to figure out ways to end the contract early. Sources say they were planning on letting Beanie go at the six-month mark, which is when her co-star Jane Lynch was supposed to leave as well.
Sources report that Beanie knew she was about to be fired, so she decided to quit! On Sunday, the 29-year-old actress went on her social media accounts to make the shocking announcement.
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.
She’ll be leaving the show on July 31, just four months into her year-long contract. Producers have already replaced her with Lea Michele. She’ll take over the leading role in September.
Sources say that producers had “basically fired” Beanie already. And while some members of the crew were shocked by her announcement, others saw it coming.
It’s interesting. Some sources say they were blindsided and even accused Beanie of “not giving a shit” about the crew, but then other sources say everyone knew this was coming, even the producers.
The producers were absolutely aware she was making this announcement and they approved that language. An email went out yesterday from the producers letting the rest of the company know her last performance date and that the information would be released. It was not a surprise to anyone
Who to believe? Not sure, but damn. I feel a little bad for Beanie. Hopefully she bounces back by entering the movie world again.
