Why Lea Michele Can’t Win a Tony for ‘Funny Girl’ Amid ‘Glee’ Comparisons

Life is merry art imitate for Leah Michelewho will perform at the Tony Awards with the Broadway revival of Funny girl on Sunday, June 11.

Somewhere Rachel Berry is smiling. ❤️ @thetonyawards tonight!” the actress, 36, captioned a rehearsal photo from the United Palace stage in New York City on Sunday via Instagram.

After many homages to the Barbra Streisand movie throughout the show, the cheerfulness series finale showed Michele’s character, Rachel Berry, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for a Funny girl revival The resident of New York, however, does not receive a word of thanks.

Michele – who shares son Ever, 2, with husband Sandy Rich – will not be eligible for a Tony this year after participating in the musical in September 2022. Funny girl debuted last April with Cap Feldstein in the lead. Feldstein, 29, was considered the actress who came up with the role in this particular production, making her the only Fanny actress to consider.

Feldstein was not nominated at last year’s ceremony amid overwhelmingly negative reviews. Michele, meanwhile, has been showered with positive feedback since her August Wilson Theater debut.

Despite the production not being considered for this year’s trophies, Michele and the cast are of Funny girl will appear to perform – and another cheerfulness alum took the stage to accept a Tony Awards.

Alex Newell won the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical category on Sunday night, becoming the first gender nonconforming performer to earn a Tony. The actor played Wade/Unique Adams on Glee after appearing on the reality show The Glee Project. They won their award for their portrayal of Lulu in the new musical comedy Peeled.

“I’ve wanted this all my life and I’m thanking you all in this room right now,” said Newell. “And mom, I love you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for teaching me about strength. To my entire building, cast and crew of Shucked. You are my stone. I love you all. Thank you for seeing me, Broadway.

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The new Tony Award winner concluded with a message of hope: “I shouldn’t be here as a weird, non-binary, fat, black, little baby from Massachusetts. And to anyone who thinks they can’t, I’m going to look you dead in the face and tell you that you can do anything you set your mind to.