Lea Michele on ‘New Year’s Eve’: “I didn’t really intend on doing a film where I sang”

Lea Michele’s extraordinary voice is showcased each week in her starring role on FOX’s Glee but is the songbird ready to trade in her signature solos for non-singing film roles? 

Despite the fact that she sings in the new film, New Year’s Eve, Michele says she is ready to explore other opportunities in Hollywood.  In an interview with E! Online, Michele says, “I just felt that it was a perfect part for me to play for my first film.  To really transition from Glee…And from now on I might start to try to look into other things without singing to give my voice a break.”

The part, a backup singer for Bon Jovi, was written specifically with her in mind.  Michele read the script without the mindset of finding another role to display her vocal talents, and she had no idea the part had been written for her.  She says, “I didn’t really intend on doing a film where I sang.  I sing so much on my show that I sort of felt like maybe I would start looking into things that didn’t involve me singing, but when I read the script, the songs were already in there—they didn’t add them for me.”  Read more

‘Funny Girl’ is Postponed! Los Angeles and Broadway Productions Shelved

What the hell?

It was just announced that the planned Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Funny Girl has been postponed.

The show, which was to have opened in LA in Januaury and then move to Broadway in April, has been shelved because of the “current economic climate” producer Bob Boyett said.

“We have made the extremely difficult decision today to postpone our production of Funny Girl. Given the current economic climate, many Broadway producing investors have found it impossible to maintain their standard level of financial commitment. Our desire to produce Funny Girl on the scale it deserves required a capitalization of $12 million making it one of the most expensive revivals in Broadway history.”

Boyett continued, “I am deeply saddened by this decision, but I, along with the finest group of co-producers I have ever had the pleasure to work with, Sonia Friedman, Jean Doumanian, Stacey Mindich and Tim Levy, determined that this was not the right time to bring Funny Girl to the stage.”  Read more