Beanie Feldstein’s dream came true when she learned that she’d be starring in Funny Girl on Broadway, as seeing Barbra Streisand‘s Oscar winning turn in the 1968 musical film version of the theater classic informed a large part of her early childhood. On Wednesday (Oct. 27), the actress appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers and revealed that she did not tell her mother — who introduced her to the movie as a child — about auditioning to be Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical.
“I didn’t tell my mom I was auditioning. I was like ‘If this doesn’t go my way, it’s going to hurt her so much more than it’s going to hurt me,'” Feldstein explained. “She had no idea any of this was happening, so when I got the call that I was going to be Fanny Brice on Broadway, which is insane, I called my mom and I was like, ‘I’m going to come by the house. Please put your mask on. Bring dad, come outside. I’m going to be masked, but I have something to tell you.’ I was like ‘I’m going to be Fanny Brice on Broadway’ and I’ve never seen her that happy.”
Feldstein’s mother played a large role in putting her on to Funny Girl, which she did to introduce her daughter to the talents of Streisand. “My mom showed me the movie. She said ‘Look at this iconic Jewish woman on the screen. You have to see this!'” the 28-year-old said. “At two years old I became obsessed with it. Other kids would be like ‘Play The Little Mermaid and I’d be like ‘Can we do ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ one more time, please mom, from the top!'”
“It’s truly the first dream I ever had. Funny Girl was my obsession as a two-year-old. I begged my mom to make my third birthday party Funny Girl-themed. So at Party City you have Elmo plates and Beauty and the Beast. I was like ‘Where is the Fanny Brice balloons?’ And she was like, ‘They don’t exist.’ I literally had a Funny Girl birthday party. My mom made me a Fanny Brice costume,” Feldstein added.
The Booksmart actress is set to make her debut in Funny Girl on April 24, 2022. Watch Feldstein on Seth Meyers below.
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