Good news, Funny Girl fans.
Fanny Brice herself, Lea Michele, announced Wednesday that the current Broadway production of the hit musical will get a cast album — 58 years after the original “Funny Girl” album featuring Barbra Streisand was released.
According to NBC’s “Today” show, the digital version of the record arrived on Friday, and the CDs will hit shelves on January 2.
“We have a little secret we wanted to let all of you in,” Michele told the crowd during a curtain call Wednesday night at the August Wilson Theater in New York City.
“We’re going to release our original Broadway album for ‘Funny Girl.’ … Everyone here works so incredibly hard every night. We also worked hard in the studio to make such an incredible album that I heard. And as the biggest ‘Funny Girl’ fan of my life, I’m very proud of that.”
In the preview video for the album, Michele passionately performs the stunning number “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in the recording studio. The actor and singer performed the song as Rachel Berry on “Glee” years before she won a standing ovation for her role as Fanny Brice on Broadway. Coincidentally (or not), Rachel Berry also played Fanny in the series’ fictional Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
In July, Michele replaced Benny Feldstein as the legendary star of Jewish vaudeville. Since launching the Funny Girl series in September, Michele has received rave reviews for her debut film Tour de Force.
