Lea Michele Recalls the Emotional Moment She Learned She’d Be Starring in Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’
“It was just a very full-circle moment for me,” Lea Michele — who began performances Tuesday as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl — tells PEOPLE
Lea Michele is back on Broadway!
Ahead of the actress’s first performance as Fanny Brice in the revival of Funny Girl on Tuesday, Michele told PEOPLE about the moment she learned that she’d be returning to Broadway for her first time in over a decade.
“Funny story,” she began. “I got the call from my agents that I got the part. I had no idea. I was literally sitting out at Bubby’s with my child [Ever, 2], feeding him buttered pasta and broccoli. And I get a call from my agents, and they said, ‘You are going to be Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.’ And as I looked up, I start hysterically crying, and I’m like, oh my God.”
At that moment, Michele said that she looked up and saw former Spring Awakening costar Gideon Glick.
“He saw me crying. People had been asking me [about the role], but I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” she continued. “He was like, ‘Oh my God, did you just get the part?’ And I was nodding. And so he took a picture of me on the street hysterically crying, getting the part of Fanny Brice,” she continued.
“Gideon used to be my old roommate. And he was actually there with me when I got the call that I would be in Les Miz as well. So it was just a very full-circle moment for me.”
The Glee alum said she had multiple “mini” celebrations since she learned she’d be taking over the role of Fanny Brice, a part she played before as Rachel Berry on the Fox musical series. She also sang the musical’s show-stopping “Don’t Rain on My Parade” at the 64th Annual Tony Awards in 2010.
She’s previously said that landing the role (originated by Barbra Streisand in 1964) is “a dream come true,” so the Spring Awakening cast has been sending her nothing but well wishes ever since the news was announced that she’d be starring in the show following Beanie Feldstein’s exit.
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“Everyone is so incredibly supportive,” she said of her former Broadway costars. “I mean, literally, it’s just a constant support for all of us.
“When I finally signed my contract and that was done, [best friend Jonathan Groff] came over, and we just popped open a bottle of champagne, and we just sat in the living room and toasted to that. But I also had a weekend where we went away together, and we celebrated.”
Groff and Glick were among the many friends who attended Michele’s first performance Tuesday night.
Also in attendance were John Gallagher Jr., Zachary Quinto, Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and prolific producer Ryan Murphy, who worked with Michele in Glee and Scream Queens.
The actress received four standing ovations before intermission.
Michele — and Tovah Feldshuh, who was also debuting in the production on Tuesday, as Fanny’s mother — were showered with praise again during the musical’s curtain call, each getting a bouquet of roses from their company members. Taking one another’s hands, the two actresses shared a group bow before Michele stepped center stage on her own. She made eye contact with a sobbing Groff in the audience, pointing at him and sending a smile his way before scurrying off backstage.
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