Broadway’s Funny Girl was set to lose the duo of Beanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch come this September as previously reported. Feldstein had played the role of Fanny Brice and had done so with aplomb as seen by the rave reviews she had amassed while playing the role including one from Collider’s Maggie Lovitt. Lynch has also continued to do justice to her role as Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s mother. It has, however, been confirmed that the actress is set to leave a lot sooner than had earlier been expected.
Lynch’s departure from Funny Girl will not be on Sunday, August 14. This will make it the second time her departure from the show has been revised. The actress was initially meant to leave on September 25 before seeing that change to September 4. Unlike Feldstein’s departure which was due to the producers wanting “to take the show in a different direction,” Lynch has had a long-scheduled vacation planned out which is set to begin on August 15. The actress was set to return on August 25 before her departure for the Creative Arts Emmys on September 1 in Los Angeles. Rather than have her back for just a week of performances, the producers have decided to push up her exit from the show.
In the event of the announcement of her departure, Lynch has put out a press release confirming her exit:
“With my long-planned vacation on the books and then the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony in LA on Thursday, September 1, I will take my final curtain call on August 14. As I embark upon my last week in Funny Girl, my heart is filled with gratitude for this wildly talented company led by Beanie Feldstein and our wonderful audiences for keeping theater alive! I offer a special thanks to my current scene partner Julie Benko and will be back to see my friend Lea Michele light up the lights.”
Tovah Feldshuh has been penned down as Lynch’s permanent replacement on the show but will take over come September 6. In the meantime, Mrs. Brice’s standby, Liz McCartney will play the role from August 16 to September 4 before the permanent switch occurs. The other scheduling change as previously mentioned is the departure of Feldstein who left on July 31. The actress has been replaced by Lea Michele in the titular role. However, Michele will pick up the role permanently starting September 6. Standby Julie Benko has taken up the role till the official switch happens.
With these changes two scheduling changes happening in a short space of time, it would be key to see how the show moves on from the shake-up. You can watch the teaser for Feldstein's performance as Fanny Brice below: