Harshest gossip I’ve read - Beanie Feldstein dumped from Funny Girl

[Anonymous]

DAMN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What amazes me is that Feldstein got cast in the first place. What were the producers thinking? Does anyone know if she was cast and her casting announced before the producers and director really heard her sing? Were they hoping that vocal training and help between her casting and the opening would be enough, combined with her acting and genuine sweetness, to pull the performance through?

I'm not snarking, I'm asking for real--does anyone know if that was the backdrop?

This is NOT a diss on her as an actress or a person or someone who seems to possess a ton of charm on stage. It's about the initial decision to cast someone who clearly was not up to the vocal challenge of a role where everyone in the audiences knows the songs already, everyone has heard them sung many times already. Some roles, people can come to the theater open to a new kind of voice or a new interpretation. This one, not so much.. So of course there was going to be a reviewer blowback because everyone has such expectations about the songs in that well-known show.

And I say this as someone who is a big fan of what I'd call "quirky" vocalists who have their own individual sound that I know others dislike--for instance, I like Lin-Manuel Miranda's singing in "Hamilton" and "In the Heights," because it's not another cookie-cutter perfect Broadway voice, but a "character" voice with warmth and realism. But those shows were new when they premiered and he could build the characters around his voice. "Funny Girl" is way too well-known for producers and the director to cast someone who wasn't up to the perhaps overblown expectations that come with the show. And I feel bad for Feldstein because the producers should have been realistic so, so much earlier and saved her all the heartache.

Family connections.

She's been building a nice career as an actress, but this role was WAY too big for her as a singer. It's a case of failed nepotism.

Wanting to play this part was literally part of Lea's Rachel Berry character in "Glee." So it makes it seem extra manipulated and weird. The whole thing is a mess!

All of this. I couldn’t figure out how she got the role on American Crime Story playing the role of Monica Lewinsky either. She might be a lovely person, but not everyone is talented in the right ways. She was pretty distracting (in a negative way) for me while watching her try to portray Monica. If she can’t sing, she shouldn’t be given a role where a strong voice carries the role. Just find her casting so bizarre. They should have replaced her quickly, but the act of replacing her should not be a controversy!

How are her "family connections" even this strong? Her brother, Jonah Hill, is a B-list actor. The movies he's produced or directed have not had much success. Sure, he got some Oscar nods 10+ years ago but he hasn't had a decent high-profile role since War Dogs in 2016.

She gets roles that are way too high-profile for her talents or her family connections.

I think their dad is a producer or something.

Accountant and money manager for a bunch of Hollywood people: https://www.nksfb.com/partners/richard-feldstein/

So I guess that explains the family's connections.

Actually, her mom, Sharon Feldstein is the true force behind Beanie and Jonah. My kid went to MS and HS with Beanie so I got to know Sharon. She was a stylist to the stars and the ultimate stage mom.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone actually see her? I did and she CAN sing and she sounded great! We were prepped for it being awful and she was charming and wonderful. She had all the big belts down (and btw this is not what makes good singing). I think all this criticism is really about something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone actually see her? I did and she CAN sing and she sounded great! We were prepped for it being awful and she was charming and wonderful. She had all the big belts down (and btw this is not what makes good singing). I think all this criticism is really about something else.

Her weight...

[Anonymous]

Although I would have preferred Julie Benko take over the role FT, Lea will be a much better Fanny. Love Tovah Feldshuh! She should have been the first choice for the role of Fanny’s mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone actually see her? I did and she CAN sing and she sounded great! We were prepped for it being awful and she was charming and wonderful. She had all the big belts down (and btw this is not what makes good singing). I think all this criticism is really about something else.

Her weight...

It’s distracting just as it was when she was cast as Monica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DAMN.

Why is this woman continuing to comment? I understand why she brought her claims about Lea to light two years ago, but nothing has transpired since. No one else has made similar claims AFAIK. Seems like she’s just trying to get her own name out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DAMN.

Why is this woman continuing to comment? I understand why she brought her claims about Lea to light two years ago, but nothing has transpired since. No one else has made similar claims AFAIK. Seems like she’s just trying to get her own name out there.

+1. She needs to move on.

[Anonymous]

Why would they cast someone who can't even sing into the lead role?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DAMN.

Why is this woman continuing to comment? I understand why she brought her claims about Lea to light two years ago, but nothing has transpired since. No one else has made similar claims AFAIK. Seems like she’s just trying to get her own name out there.

+1. She needs to move on.

Looking at her IMDB, she needs as much publicity as she can get

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would they cast someone who can't even sing into the lead role?

She can sing, but not Broadway-caliber, filling-the-shoes-of-Streisand sing.

[Anonymous]

Lea is a b, but she’s a b to EVERYONE. The chick that dragged her during BLM, was just using it for publicity. I work backstage. LM has had a bad reputation since she was kid doing off broadway. Hopefully her public scolding will improve her attitude.
She’ll be amazing in the roll.
Beanie…. Yeah it was “body-positive-nepotistic” casting.
She doesn’t look or sound the part. Who could have predicted she would get panned?!?!?
Umm… pretty much everyone?
She needs to head back to film. She could have a nice long career as a character actress. She’s not cut out for the stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lea is a b, but she’s a b to EVERYONE. The chick that dragged her during BLM, was just using it for publicity. I work backstage. LM has had a bad reputation since she was kid doing off broadway. Hopefully her public scolding will improve her attitude.
She’ll be amazing in the roll.
Beanie…. Yeah it was “body-positive-nepotistic” casting.
She doesn’t look or sound the part. Who could have predicted she would get panned?!?!?
Umm… pretty much everyone?
She needs to head back to film. She could have a nice long career as a character actress. She’s not cut out for the stage.

Her first love was musical theatre and she is fine on stage but not in a lead role. She can do ensemble and comedic roles like her brother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would they cast someone who can't even sing into the lead role?

She can sing, but not Broadway-caliber, filling-the-shoes-of-Streisand sing.

+1. It is an iconic role, like “A Star Is Born”. After Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, they cast Lady Gaga. Actually, Lady Gaga would have made a great Fanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love that Jane Lynch, who's in Funny Girl, went "Wait, Lea's coming? Hell no!" and noped the heck on out of there.

Ha, this. She was careful to be diplomatic about it of course. I wouldn't pay one red cent to see anything Lea Michelle is in.

For every one of us who wouldn't go, there are 10 tourists to NYC from Flyover America who will scramble for a ticket and remember her as "The girl from Glee." They don't give a sh#t about how she acted on set toward POC or how she got dragged on social media during the BLM movement of June 2020.

Agree, and it makes me sad. Like when LuAnn was drinking and so many 20's women went to her stupid caberet shows just because they could see a famous person. It fed LuAnn's ego in terrible ways.

LuAnn is sober now and still does cabaret. You’re expecting a reality TV star not to have an ego? I honestly don’t understand your issue with seeing a campy show if they want to. She’s not allowed to earn a living?

You clearly weren't watching Real Housewives of NY like I was. She was obsessed with herself, more than all the other women put together. Her caberet thing was all she could talk about. She got stopped by police driving and pulled a Reese "Don't you know who I am?" Witherspoon and wound up in jail. Awful.