Lea Michele’s ‘Funny Girl’ Opening Night Got Seven Standing Ovations
My old, dumbass self didn’t think to stretch before attending Lea Michele’s first performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway.
“Get ready for me love, ’cause I’m a ‘comer,’” she spat from downstage center, where she delivered the climax to “Don’t Rain on My Parade” with such barn-burning fervor that a standing ovation was compelled before the song was over. It would be the fourth of seven standing ovations over the course of the night, this one coming just seconds after the show stopped for raucous applause after her “one shot, one gun shot, and bam!” She stared into the spotlight until the response died down enough for her to belt out the bridge.
If you’ve seen Glee, you’ve already seen Lea Michele torch a rendition of this number. But this opening night, in which she replaced previous star Beanie Feldstein in the role that Barbra Streisand made famous, that song, and each of the standards that she performed, were rousing in a much different way—especially given the headlines that preceded her singing them.