Lea Michele said it’s a dream come true to play Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, a role her icon Barbra Streisand originated in 1964.
Even better, Babs noticed the Glee star and congratulated her in a “beautiful letter.”
Lea told the story on Late Night With Seth Meyers Monday night about when she “finally heard from Barbra.”
She said a colleague handed her a gold envelope that reminded her of the shiny invitations from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Lea said she knew it was from Babs and joked, “I think [her letters] would arrive on doves, like a special carrier!”
“It was very sweet … she wrote me this beautiful letter,” the actress said, recalling the one line that brought her to her knees. “She was like, ‘It’s really wonderful when your dreams come true, isn’t it?'”
Lea said she called Glee creator Ryan Murphy, Spring Awakening co-star Jonathan Groff and others who would understand the magnitude of that moment.
The Broadway star added she began to worry she had fallen for “the worst prank on me in the entire world,” so she ensured the letter was legit. How did she do that? She crept into Funny Girl co-star Ramin Karimloo‘s dressing room to hunt for the letter the legendary singer wrote him when the show first opened.
“I snuck into his room, found his copy of his letter and just made sure the writing was the same. And it was, so that was all I needed,” Lea remarked. She also revealed Ramin confronted her about being in his dressing room because she may have left behind a mess during her hunt.
Funny Girl is currently running at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City.
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