Acclaimed actress Tovah Feldshuh chatted about starring in “Funny Girl” on Broadway this September.
On September 6, at the August Wilson Theatre, Lea Michele will take over the role of Fanny Brice (from Julie Benko) and Tovah Feldshuh will play her mother, Mrs. Brice. Feldshuh will replace current cast member Jane Lynch, who will play her final performance on September 4th.
“I am very excited,” she said about being in this production, which is based on incidents in the life of Fanny Brice. “The work is just beginning. I am very honored to be working with such a talented actress, Lea Michele. I’ve started rehearsals, she is just tremendous. I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this mega-production with director Michael Mayer and with an A-list of players and resources.”
“The fans will see a mother and a daughter that are genetically connected, we are both brunettes, and I want to look very related to Lea, and I think we have luck on the side of our genetics. I will be the first actress in the history of the show on Broadway to be of the Jewish faith to play this part. I am very grateful to have been given the chance to give a Jewish girl a Jewish mother,” Feldshuh elaborated.
She is drawn to her character, Mrs. Brice, for several reasons. “What I love most about Mrs. Brice is that she has fortitude, loyalty, and unbridled love for her daughter, but it is a tough kind of love. What I loved most is that they asked me to do this play, they just called me and asked if I was interested. It was pretty thrilling. This is my 10th Broadway show, and in May, this will be my 50th anniversary on Broadway.”
Feldshuh last appeared on Broadway in the 2013 revival of “Pippin.” She has also been seen on Broadway in such productions as “Cyrano,” “Rodgers & Hart,” “Dreyfus in Rehearsal,” “Yentl,” “Saravá!,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” and she played the title roles in “Golda’s Balcony” and “Irena’s Vow.”
She is a six-time Emmy and Tony nominee and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. Additionally, for her theatre work, she has won four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle, three Dramalogues, the Obie, the Theatre World, and the Helen Hayes and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Actress. She is a playwright, concert artist, and author.
On her latest endeavors (aside from rehearsals for “Funny Girl”), she said, “I am also doing a television series called ‘Shelter’ and we are shooting that for Amazon in New Jersey, and I am a doing a film called ‘A Girl Like Him’ where I play the grandmother of a nonbinary, which is a big thrill as well.”
“I am doing three projects almost simultaneously and I feel very lucky,” she added.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of her life, Feldshuh revealed, “How lucky do I feel to have such an abundance of artistic riches coming my way.” “I am thrilled to be so heavily active,” she admitted. “I am very grateful and I think that the hyperactivity of my career now should be very encouraging to all senior citizens. Stand aside AARP, I am not ready for you yet.”
Her latest book, Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve Played, is available on Amazon. It earned a favorable review, and Feldshuh noted that her ultimate dream would be to get “Lilyville” up as a television series. “I would love to star in my own TV series,” she said. “That would be a wonderful thing.”
To learn more about veteran actress Tovah Feldshuh, check out her official website.
