Lea Michele announces ‘Funny Girl’ Broadway cast album: ‘I’m so proud of it’
Good news, “Funny Girl” fans.
Fanny Brice herself, Lea Michele, announced Wednesday that the current Broadway production of the hit musical is getting a cast album — 58 years after the release of the original “Funny Girl” cast album featuring Barbra Streisand.
According to a press release, the digital version of the record is scheduled to arrive Friday at 9 p.m. Pacific, while physical CD copies will hit shelves Jan. 20. The album will likely be available to stream on major music platforms such as Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music.
“We have a little bit of a secret that we wanted to let you all in on,” Michele told the audience during a curtain call Wednesday night at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City. She also shared the announcement on Instagram.
“We are going to be releasing our original cast Broadway album for ‘Funny Girl.’ … Everyone here is working so incredibly hard every single night. We’ve also worked so hard in the studio to make such an incredible album that I’ve heard. And as the biggest ‘Funny Girl’ fan my whole life, I’m so proud of it.”
I wasn’t particularly excited about sitting through this ‘Funny Girl’ revival again. But I left understanding why tickets to see Lea Michele as Fanny Brice are going for a king’s ransom.
A video preview of the album sees Michele passionately belt the show-stopping number “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in the recording studio. The actor and singer famously performed that song as Rachel Berry on “Glee” years before she received standing ovations for her turn as Fanny Brice on Broadway. Coincidentally (or not), Rachel Berry also played Fanny in a fictional Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” on the TV series.
In July, Michele was tapped to replace Beanie Feldstein as the legendary Jewish vaudeville star in the Broadway production of “Funny Girl.” Michele was both an anticipated and controversial choice after multiple former co-stars accused her of abusive behavior on set.
Michele most recently addressed the bullying claims by telling the New York Times, “I have an edge to me. I work really hard. I leave no room for mistakes .... That level of perfectionism, or that pressure of perfectionism, left me with a lot of blind spots.”
Ahead of her debut in Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl,’ ‘Glee’ star Lea Michele discussed the allegations about her microaggressions and prima donna behavior.
Since launching her “Funny Girl” run in September, Michele has drawn rave reviews for her “tour de force” debut.
“Michele’s performance in ‘Funny Girl’ is one of the top five musical theater performances I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote.
“Theatrical excellence isn’t as common as you might imagine. I was thankful for having been present at one of those rare moments when everything falls into place on Broadway — the right performer in the right role at the right time and in front of the right audience.”
Other main cast members featured on the album include Ramin Karimloo as Nick Arnstein, Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan, Tovah Feldshuh as Rosie Brice, Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld, Ephie Aardema as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Debra Cardona as Mrs. Meeker, Toni DiBuono as Mrs. Strakosh and Martin Moran as Tom Keeney.
The full track list is as follows:
1. “Overture”
2. “Who Are You Now?”
3. “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty”
4. “I’m the Greatest Star”
5. “Eddie’s Tap”
6. “Cornet Man”
7. “His Love Makes Me Beautiful
8. I Want to Be Seen with You”
9. “Henry Street”
10. “People”
11. “You Are Woman, I Am Man”
12. “Don’t Rain on My Parade”
13. “Sadie, Sadie”
14. “Who Taught Her Everything She Knows?”
15. “Temporary Arrangement”
16. “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”
17. “Who Are You Now? (Reprise)”
18. “You’re a Funny Girl / Beekman Call”
19. “What Do Happy People Do?”
20. “The Music That Makes Me Dance”
21. “Dream Ballet”
22. “Finale Act 2”
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