Theater Beanie Feldstein announces she's leaving Funny Girl even earlier than expected People who need Beanie are… not the luckiest people in the world. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on July 10, 2022 09:31PM EDT Beanie Feldstein made a surprise announcement Sunday night on Instagram, posting that she would be leaving the role of Fanny Brice in the troubled production of Funny Girl on July 31. "Playing Fanny Brice on Broadway has been a lifelong dream of mine and doing so for the last few months has been a great joy and true honor," Feldstein wrote. "Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated." Without elaborating on what "different direction" the show would take, Feldstein went on to thank the cast, the crew, and "every single person who came" to see the show and expressed hope that audiences will keep coming to see it after she departs at the end of the month. Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan and Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in 'Funny Girl'. Matthew Murphy EW has reached out to the production for comment. According to EW's conversation with director Michael Mayer prior to rehearsals, Feldstein was committed to the production for a year. Then, last month, producers announced Feldstein and costar Jane Lynch would be exiting the production early, on September 25. Funny Girl opened to mixed reviews on April 24, with Feldstein bearing the brunt of the criticism, being tasked with the nigh-impossible: filling Barbra Streisand's inexhaustible range. "It's hard to escape the feeling that Feldstein, for all her fourth-wall winks and bright enthusiasm, is fundamentally miscast," wrote EW critic Leah Greenblatt. "This Girl needs a force majeure, not a light breeze, to make it sing." Feldstein has also missed a number of performances; just last month she had to step away from a few shows after coming down with a case of COVID-19. Now, the question is: Who will be the new Fanny Brice? Feldstein's understudy Julie Benko has received praise for her portrayal while Lea Michele has been circling this role like a Drama Desk-nominated hawk for years. We won't have to wait long to find out, however. In the grand tradition of the show going on, the production has already tweeted that "exciting casting announcements" will be made tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. Get ready to say hello to a new gorgeous. Related content: Beanie Feldstein is exiting Funny Girl early come September Funny Girl review: Barbra Streisand's shoes are too big for Beanie Feldstein to fill Hey, Mr. Arnstein, here she is: Beanie Feldstein is ready to be Broadway's new Fanny Brice Lea Michele endorses Beanie Feldstein for Funny Girl role: 'This is going to be epic!'