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Jane Lynch: Leaving ‘Funny Girl’ early has ‘nothing to do with’ Lea Michele

Jane Lynch is now leaving ‘Funny Girl’ on Broadway early, too

Ticket prices surging for Lea Michele’s opening night in ‘Funny Girl’

Jane Lynch reacts to ‘Glee’ co-star Lea Michele’s ‘Funny Girl’ casting

From Rachel Berry to Fanny Brice.

Lea Michele has shared a photo of herself singing “Don’t Rain On My Parade” while in rehearsals for her upcoming turn in the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl.”

The “Glee” alum, 35, who is set to replace Beanie Feldstein in the iconic role — which made Barbra Streisand a household name — took to her Instagram Story with the pic Friday.

“The incredible @ephieaardema got a photo of me singing Don’t Rain On My Parade on a Broadway stage for the first time ever today,” she captioned the snap, tagging her understudy, Ephie Aardema.

“@ephieaardema you are amazing I [love] you!!!” she added.

The image showed Michele dressed in black leggings, a black sweater and chorus shoes, belting the show-stopping Broadway number from the front of the stage, ahead of her September 6 debut.

Fans of “Glee” would recall her character Rachel Berry performed the song in the show’s first season.

Michele later brought down the house at the Tony Awards in 2010 when she sang the same tune.

Although the casting announcement marks a full circle moment for the actress, it hasn’t been without controversy.

Feldstein shocked the Broadway community when she took to social media last month to announce her early departure from the show.

“Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,” she cryptically wrote.

Fellow “Glee” alum Jane Lynch then announced her early departure from the production, but insisted it had “nothing to do with” her former co-star’s casting.

“I have a vacation Aug. 14, and then I had just like five shows after that, and it’s a six-hour flight, so I thought, ‘Let’s end it now,’” Lynch, 62, explained to Playbill earlier this month.

Although Michele is best known for her work on the small screen, she is also a Broadway vet who made her debut at age 8 as Young Cosette in “Les Misérables.”

She later appeared in productions of “Ragtime” and “Fiddler on the Roof” before originating the role of Wendla Bergmann in “Spring Awakening.”

She came under fire in 2020 when “Glee” co-star Samantha Marie Ware accused her of racist behavior on set.

She apologized at the time, writing in part on Instagram, “I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”

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