Find Out Why Funny Girl Star Beanie Feldstein Loves Playing 'Unapologetic Women'

Funny Girl star Beanie Feldstein, who made her Broadway debut as Minnie Fay in Hello, Dolly!, is now playing Fanny Brice in the semi-biographical musical based on the life of the illustrious Brice. Here, The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal correspondent Charlie Cooper sat down with Feldstein at The Skylark to talk all about stepping into Brice's shoes, playing "unapologetic women" and more.

This marks the first time Funny Girl has appeared on Broadway since its original 1964 production. ""It's something that I've loved literally my entire life," Feldstein said. "It's just my first love and as an adult, getting to be in this room with this group of people, with this creative team, has been a really special experience."

Barbra Streisand famously starred in both the original Broadway production and 1968 film adaptation, which was a favorite of Feldstein's growing up. "Fanny, both the character of Fanny Brice and the person that was Fanny Brice, was unrelenting and unapologetic," she said. "She said 'get out of my way, give me the opportunity, open the door for me. I am a star.' That was intoxicating to me even as a little tiny girl. I was in awe."

On screen, Feldstein is known for her roles in Lady Bird, Booksmart, Impeachment: American Crime Story, The Humans and more. "If there's one throughline across the different women is that I've played a lot of unapologetic women, and Fanny is the pinnacle. Any Jewish woman that gets to be on a stage and perform and be herself and make people laugh and sing, it's because of Fanny Brice. Bette [Midler], Barbra [Streisand], Sarah Silverman, any of us. We can all be traced back to Fanny. She broke through so many glass ceilings and really forced her way into rooms and stages that weren't built for her. To get to play a woman like that—to honor a woman like that—it's remarkable."

Watch the video below, and head here to check your local listings for The Broadway Show. Hosted by Emmy-winning anchor Tamsen Fadal and powered by Broadway.com, it is the only nationally syndicated weekly theater news program.