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Lea Michele, the star of Funny Girl, ends her stay today in the Broadway revival. She noted the milestone with an Instagram post that touted thhe show’s recoupment of its $16.5 million capitalization.
“For the past year, I’ve had the honor and privilege of playing the iconic Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on the August Wilson Stage,” she wrote. “An opportunity my younger self could have only dreamed of. And did.”
The musical opened in April 2022 at the August Wilson Theatre, starring Beanie Feldstein in the title role of Fanny Brice. Although fans initially showed great enthusiasm and ticket-buying, critics and Tony Award nominators found her performance lackluster, and the production soon saw a drop-off in sales. Feldstein made an unusually public leaving of the show, and was immediately replaced by producers with Glee star Lea Michele, who had her own strong fan base and who wowed critics. Box office receipts surged.
In fact, the show began setting box office records at the Wilson, including in January 2023, when the show set a weekly record with a gross of $2,062,739, a record at the venue for an eight-performance week.
Other house records were set for the week ending December 28, 2022, and then broke it
again for the nine-performance week ending January 1, 2023, with a gross of $2,405,901.00. Prior to Funny Girl, the house record was held by Mean Girls with a one-week gross of $1,994,386.00, set in 2018. (House records, of course, reflect not only attendance but increased ticket prices).
The revival stars Michele, Ramin Karimloo (who has been with the production since the begining) Jared Grimes, and Tovah Feldshuh.
Funny Girl will have played 599 performances and 30 previews when it ends its run on Broadway.
The revival is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, David Babani, Roy Furman, No Guarantees, Adam Blanshay Productions, Daryl Roth, Stephanie P. McClelland, Lang Entertainment Group, Playing Field, Gavin Kalin, Charles & Nicolas Talar, Fakston Productions, Sanford Robertson, Craig Balsam, Cue to Cue Productions, LenoffFedermanWolofsky Productions, Judith Ann Abrams / Peter May, Hunter Arnold, Creative Partners Productions, Elizabeth Armstrong, Jane Bergère, Jean Doumanian, Larry Magid, Rosalind Productions, Iris Smith, Kevin & Trudy Sullivan, Julie Boardman / Kate Cannova, Heni Koenigsberg / Michelle Riley, Mira Road Productions / Seaview, In Fine Company, Elie Landau, Brian Moreland, Henry R. Muñoz III & Kyle Ferari Muñoz, MaggioAbrams / Brian & Dayna Lee.