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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I understand she's not famous but a real shame they didn't simply cast the apparently outstanding understudy.

+1. At least she gets to star for the entire month of August and a couple nights per week after that.

Not sure she's so nice either. Apparently she was promoting herself and her excellent notices on social media, which was perceived as rubbing Beanie's nose in it. The producers should have handled all of this differently, what a cluster.

There is nothing wrong with actors posting about their work online.
It was disgusting reading the producers trying to assign blame to
The understudy.

+1. She should be able to post about her successful performances. It wouldn’t have been a problem with a strong famous lead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw Funny Girl with Beanie and while she was good in Hello Dolly, she doesn't have 'it' for Funny Girl. Her voice isn't powerful enough.

I saw it again when Julie Benko stood in and she's phenomenal. She doesn't have the name recognition, though, which is what they need from Lea Michele.

I'll probably go see Lea Michele in the role in October or November. I'm excited because I'm a Lea fan and actually going to see her next week in DC.

DP who never watched Glee or anything else with Lea Michele. I just watched her videos from Glee singing “People” and “My Man”. I got chlls when she sang “My Man”, which was originally sung by Fanny herself. She’s got what it takes, hands down. I’ll bet it becomes a smash.

Watch her sing Don't Rain on My Parade. I mean she kills it. Really well done.

[Anonymous]

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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.

I saw her in “Spring Awakening.” I honestly don’t care about offstage antics. Short of actually abusing other people, I don’t care what actors do. Do you know if your accountant is nice to his coworkers? Is your doctor nice to the nursing staff, do you even know? A job is a job and Lea onstage is magic. She has a phenomenal voice.

The "issue" with Lea Michele is that she was not an equal opportunity diva. She seemed to pointedly target her ire toward black and Hispanic cast mates and crew staff.

Heather Morris said the opposite. I don't remember her exact words but it was along the lines of Lea being a b**ch to everyone, not just POC. (Not that that's a ringing endorsement or anything...)

Amber Riley said the same thing as Heather. Lea is (or was, at least) a total diva and brat to everyone, regardless of race. Not that that's much better, but . . .

That said, I like to think that people can learn and grow. Hopefully she has - it's been almost a decade since Glee. I don't know that I'll go out of my way to see the play, but if the opportunity arises I wouldn't avoid it just because of her.

[Anonymous]

I'm excited to go see the show with Lea Michele playing the part.

I saw her ages ago in Spring Awakening and I've somewhat followed her career. Mainly just because that was the first Broadway show I ever saw (my aunt took me & didn't realize what Spring Awakening was about - awkward, lol). I was never a Glee fan (not really their demographic) but I would listen to some of the solo songs she sang on the show. Her version of DROMP gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. She's got the vocal chops to do it.

I also saw her sing it live when she did a show in DC with Daren Criss and it was phenomenal hearing it live.

I saw Beanie Feldstein about a month or so after the show opened and it was hard to go back after intermission. She's not untalented, it just wasn't the right role for her.

[Anonymous]

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.

Eh, it makes more sense for Lea and Tovah to start together. It would be weird for Lea to do a handful of shows with Jane.

Lea's also on tour right now. She has a DC show coming up on 7/20 and others after it.

[Anonymous]

Tovah Feldshuh is absolutely amazing and better casting than Lynch, I think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw Funny Girl with Beanie and while she was good in Hello Dolly, she doesn't have 'it' for Funny Girl. Her voice isn't powerful enough.

I saw it again when Julie Benko stood in and she's phenomenal. She doesn't have the name recognition, though, which is what they need from Lea Michele.

I'll probably go see Lea Michele in the role in October or November. I'm excited because I'm a Lea fan and actually going to see her next week in DC.

DP who never watched Glee or anything else with Lea Michele. I just watched her videos from Glee singing “People” and “My Man”. I got chlls when she sang “My Man”, which was originally sung by Fanny herself. She’s got what it takes, hands down. I’ll bet it becomes a smash.

Watch her sing Don't Rain on My Parade. I mean she kills it. Really well done.

You’re right—impressive!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tovah Feldshuh is absolutely amazing and better casting than Lynch, I think.

+1. She was terrific opposite Diane Lane in “A Walk on the Moon”.

[Anonymous]

That was a very long and repetitive read to get to the simple fact that Beanie was replaced- it's not a big deal. Every person can't do every thing. This is way to dramatic for such a boring topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was a very long and repetitive read to get to the simple fact that Beanie was replaced- it's not a big deal. Every person can't do every thing. This is way to dramatic for such a boring topic.

Yet here you are posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like Beanie sucked and they tried to help her, but there was no helping her, so they hired someone to replace her. This is very, very, very common. They probably kept her on WAY longer than they should have as a favor to her family.

+1. And influential friends like her bff Ben Platt.

Yes. Beanie and Ben Platt grew up together, and are best friends. They have both publicly talked about their closeness.

Ben's dad, Marc Platt, is probably one of the most influential producers in both LA and NY. He's got a HUGE list of top-notch productions - Broadway, TV and movies - including Wicked, Legally Blonde, La La Land, Aladdin, Dear Evan Hansen (and the list goes on).

Without his backing, Beanie would be doing dinner theatre in Olney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People say it's nepotism but Jonah Hill doesn't really have that much pull does he?

Well, maybe not Jonah Hill directly but his family is definitely connected. Aside from Beanie being his sister, his brother who died, Jordan, was Maroon 5's long-time manager. As noted in other posts, their family was connected to lots of powerful families in LA.

[Anonymous]

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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!

THIS. I am shocked no one is talking about who her brother is and his connections. She’s talent-less hack. Yes, cute. But no talent. Why do we care? Let those with talent shine through.

[Anonymous]

part of the reason no one did Funny Girl on Broadway for decades was because no one could do it was as well as Barbara Streisand. Why would they do a remake with someone whose singing voice is mediocre? it's bizarre. leah michele may not be a nice person and she may not even act that well, but I remember from Glee that she really can sing.

[Anonymous]

Read ticket sales way up with Glee star