Beanie Feldstein was "essentially sacked" from "Funny Girl" on Broadway, according to Page Six's sources, before unexpectedly departing the play on Twitter in a move that "blindsided" executives. This deviates from her announcement, that she quit because she felt the project's direction is already not to her liking.
Feldstein, who portrayed the lead character of Fanny Brice, announced on social media on Sunday that she would depart the show on July 31, only four months into a one-year contract. According to the insider, while she was fired, the production was still shocked that she would say she quit and that she's no longer returning after July 31.
Feldstein, 29, stated in her bridge-burning post, "Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated."
It appears that the "direction" was away from her and toward her replacement, Lea Michele.
A source informs us that following negative reviews of Feldstein's performance and a decline in ticket sales, producers soured on the star and abandoned the Beanie bandwagon.
But when the star herslef announced she was leaving, the executives did not like it.
"The social media post was her resignation after being terminated," a source explains.
"She definitely doesn't care," a source said of Feldstein, remarking that the post was not a smart decision.
One source however said that the production knew. They would not send out an email informing producers of her final performance date and that the information would be made public otherwise.
According to a second Broadway source, the "Booksmart" actress should be the one feeling "betrayed," and not the other way around.
The insider stated that the entire creative team established a brand around a new sort of Fanny for a new generation. Now, they have turned on her and are pointing fingers at her as if she is the reason the show is failing.
"It's not that Beanie lacks talent," a source explains. "She is not to blame. She was cast terribly."
Barbara Streisand originated the part of Brice, leaving Feldstein with large shoes to fill. Feldstein is talented but wrongly cast, the source explained.
Feldstein "barely muddles through the beloved tunes" and does not deliver a "Broadway-caliber performance," according to the New York Post review of the revival.
Now that the decision to cast Lea Michele has been made, which is quite controversial too, it remains to be seen if positive reviews will start coming in.
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