Olivia & Lea's Funny Girl Meeting Was A Win For Musical Theater Geeks
The backstage photo is everything.
Olivia Rodrigo is the latest celebrity to see Lea Michele on Broadway. On Oct. 13, Michele, who is playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, shared a photo with the “Good 4 U” singer on Instagram. “This beautiful girl came to see @funnygirlbwy last night ❤️,” Michele captioned her post. “loved seeing you @oliviarodrigo absolutely adore you! 💓”
So, did Rodrigo enjoy the show? Of course she did.
“LOVE U! U WERE INCREDIBLE!!!!” Rodrigo wrote back on Michele’s post.
This is not the first time the two stars have publicly stanned each other. In May 2021, Rodrigo dropped her debut studio album, Sour, and her song “Deja Vu” featured a reference to Glee. In the first verse, Rodrigo sings, “Watching reruns of Glee / Being annoying / Singing in harmony.” After the singer basically confirmed she was a Gleek, Michele posted the “Glee” snippet of the song on her Instagram Story in June 2021.
Michele made her Funny Girl debut on Sept. 3 where she performed for a week before canceling her performance on Sept. 10 after showing early signs of COVID-19. A day later, Michele confirmed in an Instagram Story she had tested positive for the virus and took a break from the show. “This week has been a dream come true and I cannot wait to get back,” Michele said. “You better get ready. See you soon.”
She returned as Fanny on Sept. 20. Since then, a number of stars have seen the show in person. On Oct. 12, Michele’s former Scream Queens co-star John Stamos posted on Instagram about visiting Michele.
“We just witnessed one of the most incredible performances on Broadway- ever!! @leamichele in @funnygirlbwy is perfection!” Stamos wrote alongside a photo of him and Michele. “You were born to play this role. (Also, Rachel in @gleeofficial and Hester in @screamqueensfox but mostly Fanny.) Thank you Lea!” The parenthetical sentence is a reference to Stamos’ appearance on Glee and Scream Queens, two FOX Tv shows which starred Michele.
Another Scream Queens co-star also recently stopped by Funny Girl. On Sept. 21, Michele posted a backstage photo with Jamie Lee Curtis on Instagram. “The QUEEN @jamieleecurtis my friend. Thank you for coming to see me last night. I ❤️ you. @funnygirlbwy,” Michele wrote.
Meanwhile, Michele’s former Glee co-star Darren Criss, who played Blaine Anderson on the show, also made the trip to New York City to see her on Broadway. “The amount of times this guy has heard me sing Don’t Rain On My Parade 😂,” Michele captioned a photo of Criss and his wife, Mia Criss. “I love you @darrencriss and @miavoncriss ❤️.”
Becca Tobin, who played Kitty Wilde on Glee, has also shown her support for Michele by seeing the show. “I love you so much @becca 💓 made me so happy you were here tonight!!!” Michele wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of her with Tobin.
However, not all of Michele’s co-stars are expected to make her Broadway performance. Namely, Glee’s Chris Colfer said on Oct. 11 that he won’t be seeing the show when he could “be triggered at home” instead.
Welp, I guess the duo’s Glee rendition of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked won’t be receiving a new version anytime soon.
