Lea Michele channeled her inner Rachel Berry at the 76th annual Tony Awards at the United Palace Theater on Sunday.
The 36-year-old wore a floral red and white dress to the event and later stunned everyone as she performed as Fanny Brice from Funny Girl at the awards ceremony and sang “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”
Like her Glee character, Rachel Berry, Michele has always been a big fan of Barbra Streisand, who first popularized the role of Fanny Brice. She took to Instagram to express her gratitude and happiness for her experience on Sunday.
“I thought a lot about what to say for this post. There’s so much to say. But the simple truth is that.. I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. An actual dream come true and an unbelievable honor to finally be Fanny Brice at the Tony Awards,” she wrote under her post.
Despite her outstanding performance, Michele was not eligible for a Tony nomination simply because she did not originate the role in the first revival of Funny Girl. She took over the part last year when Beanie Feldstein tapped out of the play.
The former Glee actress also presented director Michael Arden his first Tony award at the event for directing Parade, winning Best Director of a Musical. She later shared a picture of them on her Instagram story and reminisced about how they attended a previous Tony Awards as each other’s dates.
“We matched and wore red,” Michele wrote. “What an incredible honor and joy it was to hand him his award last night for best director of a musical!!!”
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#leamichele performs “dont rain on my parade” at the #tonyawards2023 #tonyawards
♬ original sound – The Hollywood Reporter
