Lea Michele stunned Times Square with her live performance of Funny Girl‘s “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on Friday Morning on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Michele’s casting for the Broadway production of Funny Girl was initially met with controversy, both for the way Beanie Feldstein was pushed aside from the project and for the accusations against Michele for toxicity and racist remarks on the set of Glee.
Reviews for Michele’s performance have been overwhelmingly positive, however, with some claiming she was born to play Fanny Brice. Her performance of the show’s most famous song “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on GMA provides audiences with a glimpse of why that might be the case. She is accompanied on stage by the rest of the Funny Girl cast.
Michele had previously sung this song a few times as Rachel Berry on Glee. Her character is also eventually cast as Fanny Brice on Broadway and actually goes on to win a Tony Award for her performance. Michele, however, is not eligible for Tony consideration because Feldstein originated the role in this revival.
This isn’t Michele’s first Broadway show. Her first ever job was as Young Cosette in Les Misérables in 1995, when she was eight, and her big breakout was in Spring Awakening as Wendla Bergmann, alongside fellow Glee actors Jonathan Groff and Jenna Hushkowitz.
Funny Girl has represented both her big return to the stage and a second lifeline for her career, which was significantly affected by the negative stories shared by previous cast mates. Michele has since apologized for her past behavior.