Fire Beanie Feldstein from Funny Girl! Now!

Oh, shut up, you tiresome cunt.

Start it yourself, asshole.

It's John Waters without John Waters.

She should be replaced by a REAL star, maybe someone who's already famous, from a long-running tv show that's beloved by millions!

You’re right r4! Now who could replace Whalestein???

Julie Benko will become the next Judy Kaye. Not world famous but a popular well-trained performer.

Friends just saw Julie on one of the many nights Beanie has bailed due to obvious depression issues. They said the audience loved her and it's obvious she will fill in permanently and soon.

A) who above 30 knows Beano? B) it's the kind of show that could just run successfully on reputation, isn't it?

Is Beano a pill for gas?

How about Betty Buckley? She's a star.

[Quote] Friends just saw Julie on one of the many nights Beanie has bailed due to obvious depression issues. They said the audience loved her and it's obvious she will fill in permanently and soon.

We'll see how long it runs...

I saw Funny Girl last week. It wasn't so bad....Though Beanie, Ramin and Jane Lynch were miscast and the production seemed kind of cheapjack. I guess it's easy for me to not be judgemental since I didn't pay for my ticket.

You have a sugar daddy?

No R13. R12 is part of a program in Manhattan called Bums to Broadway. It gives homeless people free seats to some of the best the Great White Way has to offer. He's currently on DL at one of the many computer kiosks at the Public Library on 5th Avenue.

OP=Lea Michele

r12 here r14, LOL. That made me choke on my coffee!

[Quote] a program in Manhattan called Bums to Broadway.

I misread this as Buns to Broadway and got excited.

She’s been fired.

Can you imagine having to perform with Beanie through September?

[quote]It wasn't so bad....Though Beanie, Ramin and Jane Lynch were miscast and the production seemed kind of cheapjack.

What

Just close the show. How much life does this travesty have left in it anyway?

The lyrics would have to be rewritten to mold them to the Lea Michelle persona.

"If a girl is too pretty, I'll make her wig shitty".

Attendance for Funny Girl has been 95% filled

Attendance dropped to 86% when Beanie was absence

But as long as Beanie is getting people in seats (95% capacity) she is NOT going anywhere

Because most of her audience is made up of people who need to buy two seats to watch the show.

If they don’t recast with a trans woman of color, it is LITERAL VIOLENCE

Could it be more “woke” than ‘Sicks’?

Beanie was so stately as a presenter at the Tony’s the other night. I feel that I’ve misjudged her. The grim, haunted fashion with which she handed over the freshest ingenue of ‘22 award revealed a heretofore untapped flair for introverted horror and tragedy that is wasted in a production like ‘Funny Girl’.

Saw Julie Benko yesterday. She was really very good. Looks more like Fanny Brice than Beanie does. Can sing and dance and act. There was real chemistry between her and Ramin. The audience loved her and responded enthusiastically even though the median age at the matinee was 75.

Do you mean that audience members 75 and older are generally incapable of enthusiasm?

Beanie won’t make it to September. Expect a Covid return and a quiet exit in July. Benko will not, and shouldn’t take over the show.

Would Idina Menzel replace?

She's leaving.

Is her run even six months in the end?

Counting the days she missed, R34? More like two months.

Has her voice, what there is of it, given out on her? Or is this purely "No Tony Nom? No more Bean!"?

I understand her brother, acclaimed actor and "pretty good dude" Jonah Hill has found a break in his schedule, and looks forward to fully embodying Fanny this September.

Not getting a Tony is no reason to miss shows!

But being totally ignored by the entire ceremony maybe is.

I wonder if they'd "tweak" the show and do a kind of soft reboot....

What can be improved, besides the casting?

She's been coddled all of her life, so this came as a complete shock. With the shock, she probably became depressed which manifested itself with her missing shows for " illness." She has probably never had to fight for anything in her life and has always been told she's " The Greatest Star." I feel sorry for her in a way, and blame all of the sycophants who enabled her. She's not without talent, but this project was all wrong. I have no doubt that this bowing out was a combination of several things: her depression, the positive reaction her understudy is getting, and the producers wanting to right the ship after their miscalculation. Will this solve the problem of miscasting stars? No, because ,like it or not, they are good for the bottom line. For Beanie - she now knows her limitations and will stick with a career that showcases her comedic talent, rather than trying something she could really never do well.

"I'll leave this stinking show, with dignity!"

It's very sad to me that the replacement actress is widely considered to be far superior to Beanie (that name!) as Fanny, but that ticket sales crash when she's playing it.

I doubt the understudy is a factor, considering the box office drop.

This really is a case where, with the right PR campaign, they could play up the standby (or understudy) takes over and becomes a star, especially since she's superior to the person who had the role.

Beanie Feldstein should play Susan Boyle one day, until then stay out of the business.

[quote]Saw Julie Benko yesterday. She was really very good. Looks more like Fanny Brice than Beanie does.

It doesn't matter who looks (and sounds) like Fanny Brice. It only matters who looks and sounds like Barbra Streisand.

^ LOL. Why? Who'd remember nearly sixty years ago?

Sorry, take that back. Some might remember. How many would care enough to make a difference in box office? It was nearly sixty years ago.

[quote] It doesn't matter who looks (and sounds) like Fanny Brice. It only matters who looks and sounds like Barbra Streisand.

How about Joni Lambert?

BTW : I'll bet that very few, if any, people in the FG audience know what Fanny Brice sounded like.

R48, you nitwit, most people are familiar with the MOVIE.

Dream on, R51. That was 54 years ago. The real world has moved on, Norma.

R50 why did you post that shrieking drag queen....Yuck.

A 10% drop in box office when the ‘star’ is out is not terrible. It still performed better than a lot of other shows. Word of mouth on Julie Benko is better than what’s being said about Beanie.

This is a comeback opportunity for Miss Faye Dunaway.

Glenn Close IS Beanie Brice!

Sorry, I mean Fannie Desmond.

Sorry, it's so hot today. Obviously I mean Fanny Brice.

Who are some credible replacement names? Can Ashley Tisdale sing?

What would be really amazing would be for the producers to hold open calls and discover a new talent no on has ever seen or heard before. Someone sensationally talented.

Sadie Sink sings, doesn't she?

This is bad for Pence (if an indication of one redeeming quality).... as I follow the testimony he never intended to do what they wanted. You can see why he might not have been definitive about it given the pressure around him.

^I mean bad for Pence in that there will be considerable constituency who will never forgive him.

Pence is over no matter what the outcome. No one will cry except Mother.

the article states that "Feldstein was expected to stay on possibly through the end of the year."

If this show got rave reviews and Beanie won the Tony, she wouldn't be going anywhere

This has been disappointment after disappointment for her, so she is bailing

Is Pence taking over for Jane Lynch?

LOL... R63 in the wroooooooong thread.

I'm oh dearing myself.

They need to eat crow and hire Lea already. She’s a terrible diva, but she’ll do a great job and bring in enough box office receipts to put the show in the black.

No on roots for Lea Michele. She is probably the most credible possibility.

*No one

Are you all trolling?? I can't imagine anyone who watched Lea on the Tonys Sunday night thinking she could triumph as Fanny Brice. She'd be as much of a disaster as Beanie. A different kind of a disaster but a disaster, nonetheless.

I don't think Lea is right for Fanny. But I don't think she'd be a disaster. And GLEE continues to be relevant with a young demographic.

It will be Carly Rae Jepsen and the show will close in a month.

They should convince Streisand to reprise her role. The show would rake in millions and Barbra would own Broadway once again. Who cares how gruesome it would be. If Joan Crawford can play an ingenue on Secret Storm, then Babs can come back to the role that she and only she owns.

The meltdowns with Beanie were constant, for very different reasons, previews to opening, overwhelmed with the tasks demanded by performing the role, once opened, devastated by the lackluster/negative reviews, then the ultimate slap, zero award adulation. She was frozen out of all the award season hoopla, she was expecting to be standing teary eyed in the winner’s room on Tony night clutching her little statue. She and BFF Ben Platt were going to be the last ones standing at supreme Broadway bitch Rick Miramontez’s DKC/O&M late night bash. It all went sideways, she never loved “doing the show”, despite a last minute plan to gush with PR, her tiny spoiled brain never embraced it, she’s too unhappy with not having her “dream” come true. And all this talk of the showing running beyond her leaving is kinda a farce, her father/brother/BFF are the silent investors! They are over it, of course the actual producers are despondent that they allowed the deal with the devils to import their London production with such a deficit to begin with, but NOBODY else would agree to bringing Funny Girl back on such a small budget and without an able star. The last two potential revivals halted on their roads because the budgets never were accepted. Unless lawyers are working furiously to force a celebrity replacement, this show vanishes late summer. Hopefully some muckraker will truly tell this tale.

Can anyone make a credible case that there was valid audition process for this production? It just seems like the casting came with the reboot announcement, which makes it all so sad. These producers deserve everything they're getting. I hope they've lost a LOT of money and more importantly, the ability to do anything else on Broadway...

Amanda Bynes?

r76 tells the TRUTH!

r77, Beanie herself has talked publicly about the only audition she gave which was on Zoom, just singing a couple of songs. There was NO other audition process. Now, does that make any sense? Of course, it doesn't. Her father and brother silently put up most of the money to make the Beanie revival happen. Lead producer Sonia Friedman is far too experienced to have brought the show in under any other circumstances. And Michael Mayer is simply deluded. And a hack.

Seriously, if you saw this on Zoom, would you think, " That's a great star. She would make a great Fanny Brice. Okay, her body isn't like Fanny's, but just listen to her sing! Broadway loved Oklahoma, so I'm sure they will love this alternative casting. Sign her now, before she's signed to be Marian Paroo" ?

Sonia Friedman’s involvement in the B’way production surprised me. Sure, she was a lead producer in London - and you think that experience would’ve warded her off further involvement - but even then, at least Sheridan Smith was a West End star with an Olivier and a following. I wouid’ve thought Friedman had better sense than to get on board with Beanie. Though, thinking about it, it’s a typical Brit move - so impressed with Hollywood money.

[quote]The meltdowns with Beanie were constant, for very different reasons, previews to opening

[quote]Beanie herself has talked publicly about the only audition she gave which was on Zoom

How do you know?

Well, I'm the poster who made the second claim. And I didn't make that up. It's all there in early FG interviews with Beanie and Mayer. Beanie seemed proud of it.

Google it for yourself, I don't have the time or the interest, r82.

[quote] Google it for yourself, I don't have the time or the interest

Fact is Beanie has done NO interview after opening night - that is unheard, even if you have a sold out audience. You hit every talk show, every morning show, every radio show, sing a few songs to keep those tickets selling

NONE of that has happened.

Beanie singing a few few songs would have the opposite effect on ticket sales. At least, someone realized that fact.

But yes, it's remarkable!

R85 that is a good point

[quote]Fact is Beanie has done NO interview after opening night - that is unheard, even if you have a sold out audience

It happened before the opening, R84. There was no reason to have her back.

What happened before the opening, 87?

If you mean the interview in which Beanie said she got FG through a Zoom audition, then yes, you're right.

^ Limited

Aaaaaaannnnnnddddd they've cut Beanie's singing from the TV commercial.

Ouch.

Delusional

The word is that Beanie's replacement will be ........Ben Platt!

I think she's dreadful in every photo and singing clip I've seen since this abortion was announced, but I gotta admit her performance at r80 made me like her a bit. It was charming.

" Charming"? Okay, maybe for the new host of Blue's Clues, but not for a Broadway show.

Perhaps she could be the host of the Teletubbies.

Did OP & this thread get Beanie fired?

Beanie did NOT get fired. She is leaving to, uh, uh:

1. Spend more time with her family

2. Take advantage of the many new and exciting opportunities availed to her through her spectacular performance as Fanny Brice.

That's it. I repeat: She was NOT fired.

I’m writing a musical about her departure, it’s called ‘Bye Bye Beanie’.

I don't think she was fired. The fact is that she's brought in an audience. The real problem is how she has responded to critical failure.

Yep, R100, not fired, it’s more of a “I’m done” and nobody is upset about that. She very immature and extremely insulated, this entire experience was the opposite of what she was expecting.

[Quote] extremely insulated

She's preparing to hibernate.

How long was her FG contract? Could it really have been less than 6 months? What producers would allow that unless they were her family?

Honestly, all the clues to her "mysterious" casting are out there in plain sight.

I could see producers allowing it if they had someone bigger to take over. But I very much doubt that there's a "Reba" in the wings.

Will Rosie replace Jane?

Even Rosie wouldn't put up with Lea.

And, as I stated upthread, or in another thread, they're going to have a lot of trouble attracting star names for Fanny and her Mama because the new actors will be put into the show without a director's guidance as Hack Mayer is overwhelmed now and this summer with the unnecessary new Neil Diamond musical.

On second thought, of course, that might be a selling point in attracting star names.

How about Barbra reprises her role as Fanny and Lucille Ball’s corpse as her Mama?

If this were twenty years ago, Brooke Shields would take over.

Jackie Hoffman as Mrs Brice?

Jackie is a perfect Mrs. Strakosh, not a Mrs. Brice.

Lea Michelle is likely taking over R104. She’s bigger than Beanie.

She cannot sing any better than some high school play level. That video of her singing and some kind of "dancing" to a Wicked Song is hilariously bad. It's actually camp. Any praise has to be out of pity or deliberate contrariness.

Seriously this is all about her relatives and friends buying her the job. She is the real Ivanka. Just fatter.

Michele is not at all bigger than Beanie. GLEE is bigger than Beanie, but Michele has an image problem. And Michele did not save that other TV show she joined. Id don't think Michele actually has a following.

What about Laura Benanti?

Meghan Trainor?

Alex Newell can fit in her costumes.

Laura Benanti as Mrs. Strakosh?

Yes, she'd be perfect.

How many previews and performances have there been? How many starred Beano? How many starred Benko?

Shut the entire show down. The stills I saw made it look like a community theatre production. Apparently, the "talent" is on the same level. Hey, at least the director and producers were consistent.

[Quote] Alex Newell can fit in her costumes.

That would make some heads explode! Can Newell act at all?

R120, Alex Newell as Fanny Brice makes as much sense, if not more, than an all-female " 1776."

Would the Chosen People allow it? I doubt it to the nth degree.

[quote]" Charming"? Okay, maybe for the new host of Blue's Clues, but not for a Broadway show.

r95, I never said that.

I agree. She is community theater "charming", not Broadway "charming."

Sweetie, Lea Michele is VASTLY more famous and has a much bigger following than Beanie. Period. The end.

Beanie had a minor role in a musical revival and did a partially acclaimed indie film.

Lea has created multiple roles on Broadway, has multiple award nominations including Grammys, SAG (she won), Emmys and has appeared on an internationally famous television show on which she recorded number one hits and toured in sold out shows in arenas for several years. She has multiple People’s Choice Awards. She’s got fans. A lot of them. And none of them care about that wig shitting bullshit.

And that’s just a small example. She also has MILLIONS of followers on her socials including 7.4 MILLION on Instagram compared to Beanie’s pathetic 500k. I lol’ed when the producers tried to claim that Beanie’s 500k fat girls would actually buy tickets.

To even compare the two is utterly ridiculous. She can EASILY pull in an audience. She has a ton of fans. Beanie is a nobody with a famous brother.

I guarantee you, real producers would kill to get her onstage and sell tickets.

r124 = Lea Michele's mom.

That was directed at dummy R113 Beanstan, btw.

[quote]“September 25th will be my last show as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. I’ll never be able to find the words that could even begin to explain what the experience has been to me…."

DL found the words for her...

[quote] I’ll never be able to find the words that could even begin to explain what the experience has been to me…."

Try these words: humiliated, depressed, psychotic, hypochondriacal, vengeful.

Lol, Trumpists like you never like facts. You have no way of countering them.

Lea Michele + Funny Girl = MONEY!

There is nothing special about Beanie. Not singing, not dancing, not acting, not personality, not looks, not body. Just money and connections. Usually when Daddy and friends get you a job it's not so visible. Unfortunately for her this was all too visible.

And the suck ups who don't want to burn bridges to that kind of money keep feeding her delusions.

Stephen Sondheim wrote a new song about Beano just before he died......it's called Broadway Cry Baby.

I'M AVAILABLE!!!!

If Lea Michele gets the role, I'll visit NYC just to see her performance.

Ask for an audience with her backstage in her dressing room.

Word is this thread got her ousted.

Lea is interesting but it would just be a BS impersonation.

That's better than a Totie Fields impression, R137.

Lea Michele has two things Beanie does not - a good singing voice and ethnic good looks. Hell, she's even from New York. Beanie is too California for the role.

I don't want to go looking to find out, but I wonder if the body-positivity crowd is taking this flop hard. I remember when the announcement was made that she had been cast, there was a lot of celebrating. Finally, a woman who looked like them wasn't playing the best friend; it might lead to a new way of thinking about stage and screen roles, etc.

If Feldstein considers herself part of that movement, I can see why she's down about it...beyond just not getting good reviews and awards for it.

She and Jonah Hill both are extremely sensitive about comments being made about their bodies. Even positive ones, on the occasions they've shed pounds..

Young people who are already this OTT out of shape should not be body positive. That will kill them. Literally.

The reality is most people don't want to see ugly things or people. To get past this at all you need to be unique or very talented. She is neither.

Wait. There’s going to be a NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL???

Such consternation over so little talent. I condole with you Beanie.

It may surprise some but once upon a time, Barbra was likeable and vulnerable. Lea cannot related.

*Lea cannot relate.

[quote]It may surprise some but once upon a time, Barbra was likeable and vulnerable.

Not off-stage. Lea CAN relate!

What vehicle would suit Beanie, since it’s clearly not musical comedy?

^ Horror

R146 Fitness videos

[quote]What vehicle would suit Beanie, since it’s clearly not musical comedy?

Light comedies. She is really, really good at them.

[Quote] What vehicle would suit Beanie

The Lonely Passion of Melissa Beth Miller.

[quote] What vehicle would suit Beanie, since it’s clearly not musical comedy?

Annie Wilkes in the adaptation for the stage of "Misery"

The only dame who can take over the role of Fanny Brice

How about me?

They should give the role to Miss Kathy Kirby!

Kathy Kirby is the winner!

And Marilyn Monroe should have got the movie!

Ahem.....

You bitches are sleeping.

I love how you can maybe understand maybe 40% of Patti's lyrics.

Ibegtadiffyabilly!

They should get Sara Ramirez to replace. Fanny's dating life would make sense if she's costumed like Che.

Who the pip with pizzaz here?

It's a shame Ruthie Henshall took it at this tempo.

[quote] Wait. There’s going to be a NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL???

Yes, Leslie Odom, Jr. will be playing Neil.

FABULOUS, R157!

Odd that Patti would sing a song associated with Streisand...unless they cancelled their mini-feud. And I thought Patti was awesome singing it - I could understand every fucking word.

The "Moses Supposes" Diction Coach, currently tied up with books on his lap.

But Phoebe Dinsmore thinks she needs more rounded tones. Otherwise acceptable.

Patti after Evita would have probably been pretty sensational in FG, but at that point there wasn’t any real interest in reviving it.

[quote]What vehicle would suit Beanie?

Something with big tires and a robust suspension?

Patti would have made a terrible Fanny Brice. Next you'll say she should have played Eliza Doolittle or Maria von Trapp.

R165, Patti and Streisand had a mini-feud?

One sided. The London Theatre played Streisand's version of Norma's big songs before the show, headlined by Patti.

I don't think Streisand knows who Patti LuPone is.

Nobody knows who Patti LuPone is.

Streisand doesn't know who Sondheim was.

Oh yes she does.

Is the original cast album of this production out yet? I was wondering how Beanie sounds on the recording.

Hello - I had to invite myself to the Sondheim 90th birthday tribute. Doesn’t anyone know who I am?

[quote]Is the original cast album of this production out yet?

Are you out of your mind?

Sondheim... he's one of those guys Marvin and I turned into dentist chair music, isn't he?

Schondheim!? Dentischt chair!??

Speaking of Liza, I've been trying to make my way through "A Matter of Time". Nothing really wrong with her performance, and she got I think 2 Kander & Ebb songs to sing, but man, her dad's direction and the script are pretty much a slog to get through. Even Ingrid Bergman seems kind of having an off day.

Has Beanie been back this week?

She has visited the concessions stand.

Beanie could do the stage version of "A Matter of Time"!

What was that Liz Ashley/Talia Shire movie called? Beanie could remake that.

R185, Windows (1980). Would Beanie play the Talia part?

The Beanie fiasco reminds me of this classic bit of miscasting.....

Beano Flinstone is Divine!

Beanie is not brash. Maybe she could be the daughter in a musical of Serial Mom.

She could do any role formerly done by Ricki Lake.

I hope she stays on forever just to spite her virulent, vocal haters, a.k.a. the OP of this thread.

[Quote] I hope she stays on forever just to spite her virulent, vocal haters, a.k.a. the OP of this thread.

She's announced her leaving, hon.

Only thing funny about that girl is she looks like Jonah Hill in a dress. This role should’ve been Lea Michele’s from day one. She’s insufferable as a human but she’s dedicated as hell to the art of Broadway and Streisand.

Would she be good as Tracy Turnblad in a revival of Hairspray?

Why are we having to think up roles she might be acceptable in? She's not very talented, not very attractive, she's had a red-hot opportunity handed to her. Can't we just close the books?

Well at least Beanie can carry a gun on stage in NYC now!

Just as well the critics have already been in.

[quote] Well at least Beanie can carry a gun on stage in NYC now!

Patti can also. Beware.

and Patti has a temper. Big time.

Beanie’s engaged!

Can we expect the pitter patter of Beanie babies?

LOL! Beanie' perfectly time PR engagement. Don't look over there at that play or performance or - god forbid - that understudy. Look at me and my engagement.

I never understood this young 'un idea of getting engaged as a social event. I know it's been around for a while now but it is the height of narcissism and obnoxiousness.

I cannot imagine a real adult doing this. These are kids living the equivalent of "your mom's basement" just richer and with an extended basement (aka family paid homes & lives).

Will she now claim she lost her job due to her sexual orientation?

There's never been any danger of the media looking at the understudy. That's why Julie Benko was hired.

Good for Beanie. She needs something to feel happy about I suppose.

As for Funny Girl, they'd have been better off doing a one-night TV live Broadcast and getting Jessie Mueler in there to yuck it up and belt beautifully...because I completely get why she'd want to avoid doing a whole Broadway run (she's played this type of character before in Carole King's show) and at least, as a one-time deal, it wouldn't have the pressure of competing with Babs' run...OR bore people to tears for months because the plot is so old fashioned and lame.

Maybe Babs would have even showed up for a cameo at the bar or something, as a laugh.

But a full Broadway run? Yeah, I think that had disaster all over it.

This just in Supreme Court rules in a 5-4 decision to overrule the Tony committee and award the Tony for best actress in a musical to ........BEANIE FELDSTEIN!

Free Beanie Feldstein! She's out tonight -- Julie Benko on.

Hey, she did three shows this week. Three! with that strenuous schedule a girl deserves to take time off for her birthday ( yesterday)and her engagement party.

Has there ever been an understudy who appeared in a starring role for more performances than the star?

Yes, when Donna Murphy was out from "Wonderful Town", her Linda Mugleston went on quite a bit. The producers wouldn't allow Murphy to say what was wrong with her; apparently it was some medical issue, but they made it look like a big mystery.

her "understudy or standby" Linda, etc.

Beanie is recovering from 10 days off with Covid so perhaps she couldn't get through a 2 show day today.

Best on when she announces her premature final show? She'll never make it to the end of September.

Beanie is recovering from 10 days off with Covid so perhaps she couldn't get through a 2 show day today.

Best on when she announces her premature final show? She'll never make it to the end of September.

according to some of the backstage gossip posted on a few message boards

Beanie is having a hard time with the 8 shows a week - it is exhausting for her,

Didn't Ethel Merman say you have to "live like a fucking nun" when she did a show?

No. Ethel said "you can't buck a nun" when her Momma Rose lost the Tony to Mary Martin in The Sound of Music.

Well, maybe she said the other "nun" thing, too.

Another op'ning - another occasional show......

I say Beanie’s officially gone by July 31st, with a lot of absences before the end. There’s no way she makes it to September. If I were the producers, I’d leak Lea was coming in, hastening her exit.

Did anyone see Beanie on Seth Meyers yesterday? Did he call her performance in FG a smashing success?

He called Julie's performance in FG a smashing success.

Julie Budd?

Julie took us on her journey to using the star dressing room. Amazing how the standby is more enthusiastic about the show than the star is.

Not really. This production has been a failure for Beanie.

Hello, gorgon!

R221 that is so fierce. It still says Beanie on the door and she's like "check out my new digs!" without saying it.

She seems nice though and I'm happy for her.

Who is Hugh's understudy and are there recordings of him out there with Sutton yet? I'd like to hear what they sound like together...really don't enjoy Hugh's singing voice.

Is Jayne Houdyshell fun in the show? I really enjoyed her in Follies.

No one is paying hundreds of dollars to see Julie Benko, no matter what her fans are trying to push

They are paying to see the famous show, and they are enjoying it more when Benko is on.

R226. Agree. The is the first broadway revival for many of us who grew up watching the movie and listening to the score. The title is selling tickets not the alleged star.

[quote] They are paying to see the famous show, and they are enjoying it more when Benko is on.

They're not buying tickets specifically to see her

I finally bought tickets when I found out that BF was definitely out.

Beanie is done at the end of the month!

Ladies line up! her pussy is now available 24 hours a day!!

We called it, actually to the date! She has been zero connected since the Tony season snub. This whole adventure was supposed to make her the toast of Broadway, instead it has exposed her as an entitled Hollywood brat. Good riddance fraud!

I would go see it again to see her replacement whoever that may be. Just to see if it's any better. Fist time I saw it with Beanie I couldn't believe the garbage that was strewn all over that stage lol. Thank God I saw it for free. Shame on Sonia Friedman and Michael Mayer and the other hacks involved with this mess.

different direction = different director?

Different direction = someone in the lead who can sing the music well and act the character plausibly.

A radical shift, in that the previous direction was "See Beanie live out her dream and inspire her social-media followers."

[quote]This whole adventure was supposed to make her the toast of Broadway, instead it has (...)

....made her the crumbs you empty out of the toaster of Broadway.

The people who cast her royally fucked up.

Lol why did the stage have garbage all over it?

To R237 A euphemism for the dreck they had the nerve to present to the public as “theater”

[quote] Fist time

I don't need to hear what fat Beanie does in her private life...

We did it!

Tovah Feldshuh? Good lord, someone please tell her to not thump her chest during "Find Yourself a Man". Well at least this role doesn't exactly require much in the way of singing, given the fact that the lady CAN'T SING AT ALL.

Lol, proving talent is still needed. I love it. Back to Hollywood Beanie.

Will Tovah do a number from Sarava?

I hope Lea doesn’t fall for Tovah’s picnic scam.

Will Julie Benko be enough of a draw to get the show through the summer? They should close for a month and give everyone some time off.

Perhaps Beanie heard Jane Lynch was being replaced by Tovah, and quit in solidarity.

Are there any videos out there of how bad Beanie is/was?

A Beanie can't live on paper alone.

Maybe we can send Beanie off to Rice University till things boil over. Or send her to where they make Rice-o-Roni. I'm sorry, but Beanie is such a silly name.

[quote] Are there any videos out there of how bad Beanie is/was?

There’s a 10 hour one called Impeachment.

This will kill Beanie.

Is it too nasty to hope that Lea is a massive flop?

Lea can only be a petite flop.

With all the plastic surgery, isn’t Lea Michelle too conventional looking now to play an ugly duckling like Fanny?

I kind of hope it's a box office hit for Lea and she gets a Tony nomination next year. What can I say. I love a nightmare diva

I don’t believe they Lea hype. It’s planted PR to create buzz.

Maybe some rich kids who were huge fans of "Glee" might want to be there for Lea's opening and willing to pay some sort of premium, but presumably she's been signed for what, 6 months (if it stays open that long), with an option to continue if she and the producers are agreeable to i? There are other performances for the public to see her in the show. Frankly, I've been avoiding Beanie, but might check out Julie Benko, who I hear it really good, during August and then see, hopefully the improvements in the staging for Lea.

Maybe Funny Girl can become the new Chicago, with rotating stars?

Rebel Wilson next!

More info here. So if she does all her scheduled performances between now and the 25th, how many performances will Feldstein have done? How many missed?

Replacements aren't eligible for Tony nominations, only the original opening night performers.

The Tony nominators made an exception for Larry Kert at Hal Prince's personal request for Company, but when he asked them to do the same thing for Judy Kaye in On the Twentieth Century, they turned him down and haven't made an exception since.

[quote]R260 Replacements aren't eligible for Tony nominations, only the original opening night performers.

We will challenge this! The precedent has been set!!

They should shut the production down for a month and then re-launch with the new cast and call it a brand new revival, unrelated to the first one. That way it will be eligible for Tony awards!

We could start a GoFundMe to help fund this!!

I’d donate.

r257 is Ben Platt

Re: Beanie’s “professionalism”: it’s made me think how Elaine Stritch said she never went on stage drunk… but what a kick in the pants THAT might have been!

Is professionalism overvalued? Discuss.

I'll tell you why it won't work, R262!

Why all the hate for Beanie Feldstein? I guess I should expect cunty thread titles like OP's here. This space really should be renamed, The CUNT Lounge. I got a ticket to see the show this week, specifically so I could see her in the role and see what all the fuss and poor reviews are about. I have seen the show twice in the past, and I also performed in it many years ago, so I'm very familiar with the show and its faults. No, it isn't the best book, even after Fierstein's revisions. And the undeniable and never-ending shadow Barbra Streisand casts over the role of Fanny Brice from her beloved performance in the original production and the blockbuster film are very difficult, if not impossible any production or actress to overcome. Lea Michele won't make anyone forget Barbra either.

Back to Beanie. I was totally surprised with her performance. She did an excellent job. She drew me in emotionally, she has great stage charisma and her voice is beautiful. It's a different kind of voice than Barbra Streisand's of course, but she's got some belt notes that are held foreeeever, and she sounded great on them; full vibrato, great power and tone. There was only one time in the whole show I heard a note that was flat, which happens to everyone. I considered that she may have grown into the role since it opened, but that wasn't that long ago. The NY Times and Variety reviews weren't scathing, but lukewarm. I fully expected to leave the theatre thinking she had been miscast and couldn't handle the demands of the role, but my thoughts were the exact opposite. I was really glad I got to see her. I think it's a shame that all the negative press has seemingly pushed her out of the role. And isn't Lea Michele almost universally thought of as a cunt? Good luck sister.

TL;DR

[quote]Why all the hate for Beanie Feldstein?

You must be new here, R267.

r260=Reba McEntire, still bitter

[quote]This is a comeback opportunity for Miss Faye Dunaway.

She's too butch to play Nicky Arnstein.

Has Cecil been reached for comment?