Lea Michele shocked everyone with an announcement too soon after her highly anticipated debut as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” at the August Wilson Theatre.
Lea Michele has been suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, and her understudy, Julie Benko, will take over the show soon.
However, the actress’s sudden absence sparked speculation from fans online, who noted that they had seen this scene before in an actual episode of “Glee.”
Lea Michel’s dream of playing Fanny Brice on Broadway came true just a few weeks ago, on September 6. Michele took over after the controversial departure of Beanie Feldstein in recent months.
With tickets to Michele’s show selling for exorbitant prices, fans were eager to see what prompted the several standing ovations she received at the first show.
Fans will have to wait a few days before seeing the actual spectacle because Lea Michele announced yesterday that she had been experiencing early signs and symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, even though the test was inconclusive.
According to Lea’s Instagram story:
“Due to the production’s safety protocols, I’m not allowed to perform for today’s shows. I will be testing again and will know more about tomorrow’s performance soon. Julie is going to crush it today as Fanny – as are all of our amazing understudies who have stepped up so incredibly this week while we battle a very intense COVID outbreak in our theatre.”
Although it is unknown whether Julie Benko will take over in the interim following Michele’s return, fans of the comedy-musical “Glee” have recalled an episode of the show that appears to be a very similar scene to the recent events.
Gleeks, or fans of the cult classic “Glee,” said the medical blunder reminded them of a story arc that Lea Michele’s character Rachel Berry had in the show, specifically Season 5, Episode 18, “The Back-Up Plan.”
Similarly, Lea Michel and Rachel Berry were both casts in the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl.”
However, after performing eight shows a week, Rachel Berry began to feel burnt out and tired from the daily routine. So she flew from New York to Los Angeles to audition for a TV series pilot while stalking her producers and calling in sick for the day.
Michele, who is currently in a similar situation, had fans comparing her real-life situation to a television deja vu.
According to her Instagram post, Michele is sick, but this has yet to be confirmed with a positive or negative test result.
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