Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’ to close in September
NEW YORK — The record-breaking Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” will play its final performance Sept. 3, the show’s producers said Thursday.
Stage and television star Lea Michele will continue her critically acclaimed run as Fanny Brice until the show’s cast and crew take a final bow at the August Wilson Theatre over Labor Day weekend.
Tony nominees Ramin Karimloo, Jared Grimes and Tovah Feldshuh will also stay on until the show’s final performance, according to producers Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis and David Babani.
By the time the curtain closes for the last time, “Funny Girl” will have had 599 performances and 30 previews.
The beloved Broadway musical — famous for some of the stage’s best-known classics such as “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “People” — first opened in 1964 with Barbra Streisand in the lead role. It was nominated for eight Tony Awards.
“Funny Girl” tells the story of Fanny Brice, a young Lower East Side theater lover who defies people’s expectations to become one of Broadway’s biggest stars.
Its first-ever Broadway revival, which opened last April with Beanie Feldstein playing the lead, failed to dazzle audiences. Critics were less than enthusiastic about the performance of the “Booksmart” star — a sentiment that was reflected at the box office.
The show’s fate changed with Feldman’s exit at the end of summer. Michele took over, and “Funny Girl” took off.
The 36-year-old star, who was nominated for an Emmy for her work in the Fox musical series “Glee,” made her highly anticipated “Funny Girl’ debut on Sept. 6, 2022. She received six standing ovations after her first performance. Rave reviews followed, pushing the show to box office glory.
Earlier this year, the show set a new box office record at the August Wilson Theatre with a gross of just over $2 million for the week ending Jan. 8 — a record high for an eight-performance week.