'Funny Girl' Star Tovah Feldshuh Says Lea Michele Is Proof of Meritocracy

Hello, gorgeous!

Since September 6, Broadway veteran Tovah Feldshuh has played Rosie Brice, mother to Fanny Brice in the highly publicized revival of Funny Girl that saw the exit of her predecessor Jane Lynch as well as star Beanie Feldstein in July.

Alongside Feldshuh came Lea Michele (in Feldstein's place) in one of the most talked-about Broadway shakeups in years. So was walking into a show so brightly in the spotlight at all intimidating for the Tony- and Emmy-nominated artist?

"I didn't pay attention to the news at all," Feldshuh (pronounced Feld-SHOE) told Newsweek. "I stayed in that tunnel. I did not read any stuff about our beloved Lea. I mean, the minute she stepped in the show, the box office shot up a million dollars a week, hello... If life is a meritocracy, here is an artist that deserves her accolades. This is not some person who's just Andy Warhol famous."

Being Fanny Brice—the real-life comedian played by Barbra Streisand in the original 1964 Broadway production by Jule Styne, Bob Merrill and Isobel Lennart, and the 1968 film version, for which Streisand won an Oscar—had long been a dream of Michele's as well as Rachel Berry's, her Glee alter ego.

Like Feldshuh, Michele had previously been on Broadway (the Tony-winning Spring Awakening) along with Feldstein (Hello, Dolly!). But reviews of Feldstein's portrayal of Fanny were lukewarm (some alleged that she didn't have the vocal chops, while others pointed to fatphobia for the critique), and the actress exited the production after four months.

When Michele—whose headlines in recent years have mostly been related to allegations of diva-like behavior and microaggressions against Glee co-star Samantha Ware—entered Funny Girl, the whole world was watching.

"It's a complete team effort led by Lea Michele," says Feldshuh. "She is not only not a diva, she is so polite, so careful, so respectful and loving and not fancy. She doesn't walk the dog, if you know what I mean."

In addition to her co-star's artistry and professionalism, Feldshuh also credits Michele with getting bums in seats. "We have a whole different demographic of audience; we have people who watch Glee and young people who worship Lea," she said. (This writer can attest to that: at a recent performance, there were multiple standing ovations during the show.)

Both Michele and Feldshuh have gotten raves for their performances, which isn't entirely surprising. The latter's résumé includes television (Scenes From a Marriage, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Walking Dead, as well as Emmy nominations for Law & Order and Holocaust), film (A Walk on the Moon, Kissing Jessica Stein), and four Tony nominations, including for her portrayal of Golda Meir in Golda's Balcony.

Funny Girl is a distinctly Jewish show, and Feldshuh's own Judaism is an integral part of her life and many of the roles that she's played. When asked about the possibility that certain scenes—particularly the vaudevillian Ziegfield Follies–inspired "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat," which sees Fanny dressed as a soldier named Schwartz adorned in bagels—lean perhaps uncomfortably on stereotypes, especially at a time of rising anti-Semitism, Feldshuh was adamant: "I'm not uncomfortable at all about Private Schwartz. In fact, for people of my ilk, it's probably nostalgic....[It] is part of our vaudevillian culture, just as the Irish made fun of the Irish, the Scots of the Scots...As a child, are you kidding, we had jokes about every ethnic group, including ourselves, things that I guess I dare not even say to you for it to be put in print, otherwise, I will be accused of a prejudice that I am innocent of. But this was extremely common."

"The most important thing about this Funny Girl is that for the first time in 60 years...I am the first actress of the Jewish religion to ever play this role...What I think is wonderful about Harvey [Fierstein's] rendition of this script is that it says 'Mazel Tov, Fanny,'" she notes about a party scene in Mrs. Brice's bar. "You think that was up in 1964? I don't think so."

Other additions from Fierstein, who updated the book, and director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), are the inclusion of tap numbers, including from Jared Grimes' Eddie Ryan, and little touches that Feldshuh fought for to make Mrs. Brice her own.

"One of my first requests—and Michael Mayer granted it with a little bit of resistance—is, I come out with two bottles, and it said 'beer.' I said, 'There is no way a Jewish mother will serve a young virgin daughter a bottle of beer, I don't care if it's 1910. I don't care what it is. Get me Sarsaparilla.' He said nobody will see it. I said, 'I will see it'...I went to props. And I said, 'Whom do I have to sleep with to get these labels?' And they did it. And I love them for it. Working with Michael was a total joy because he gave us room to re-create the roles and not just to replace the roles."

The actress' showmanship shows, and she makes sure to namecheck as many members of the cast and crew as she can during our interview—like costumer Susan Hilferty, who added keys to Rosie's outfit at the actress' request. (Saloon owner, single mom and tiny spitfire Rosie Brice would, indeed, have a lot of keys).

Feldshuh also peppers the conversation with tangential revelations, like the fact that she's never had Botox; polite asides to an unseen assistant or staff person, asking them to please silence what sounds like a vibrating phone; and a nod to Lynch, saying: "I thank Jane Lynch for her prominence in our business and her deal that she made because I inherited her dressing room and her billing and I hope I inherited at least some of her salary."

And just in case there was any confusion regarding how Feldshuh feels about her scene partner, she ends the interview by saying: "I feel like I'm on the wings of an angel, and her name is Lea Michele. I'm lucky."

Tovah Feldshuh appears in 'Funny Girl' at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City.