Lea Michele's Funny Girl Sets Box Office Record for Broadway's August Wilson Theatre
Bruce Glikas/WireImage Lea Michele as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl
Funny Girl just helped the August Wilson Theatre land a major milestone.
The revival, led by Lea Michele as Fanny Brice, raked in $2.005 million at the box office over an eight-performance span during the week ending Sunday, breaking the Broadway venue's previous box-office record of $1.994 million set by Mean Girls in 2018, Variety reports.
According to the outlet, the August Wilson Theatre has been filled at 98 to 99% capacity every night since Michele, 36, took over the lead role, originated in the revival by Beanie Feldstein, in September.
During the summer, before the Glee alum's debut, the venue had been filled to about 74% capacity per show, per Variety.
Funny Girl also stars Ramin Karimloo, Jared Grimes, Tovah Feldshuh, Peter Francis James, Ephie Aardema, Debra Cardona, Toni DiBuono and Martin Moran, with Julie Benko playing Fanny on Thursdays.
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Bruce Glikas/WireImage Funny Girl at the August Wilson Theate
Michele told PEOPLE earlier this year about the moment she learned she'd be returning to Broadway for her first time in over a decade.
"Funny story," she began. "I got the call from my agents that I got the part. I had no idea. I was literally sitting out at Bubby's with my child [son Ever, 2], feeding him buttered pasta and broccoli. And I get a call from my agents, and they said, 'You are going to be Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.' And as I looked up, I start hysterically crying, and I'm like, oh my God."
At that moment, the actress and singer said that she looked up and saw former Spring Awakening costar Gideon Glick.
"He saw me crying. People had been asking me [about the role], but I didn't really know what was going to happen," she continued. "He was like, 'Oh my God, did you just get the part?' And I was nodding."
"And so he took a picture of me on the street hysterically crying, getting the part of Fanny Brice," Michele added.
RELATED VIDEO: Funny Girl Producers Set the Record Straight on Beanie Feldstein's Exit as Lea Michele Steps In
While visiting the Late Show with Seth Meyers earlier this month, Michele opened up about hearing from her idol, Barbra Streisand, who originated the role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.
"It was very sweet — she wrote me this beautiful letter," Michele shared. "But one thing she said in it ... she was like, 'It's really wonderful when your dreams come true, isn't it?' And I just, like, fell to my knees, and I called [Glee co-creator] Ryan Murphy, my mom, Jonathan Groff and [Funny Girl director] Michael Mayer."
After she shared the big news with her loved ones, "I got a little nervous," the Scream Queens alum admitted. "I was like, 'Wait a second, how do I not know that this is not fake — that some person is just playing the worst prank on me in the entire world?' "
Michele said she checked in with Karimloo, who plays Nicky Arnstein, to verify her letter was actually from Streisand, 80, since Karimloo, 44, received one from the legendary actress earlier in the run.
"I snuck into his room, found the copy of his letter and then just made sure that the writing was the same, and it was!" Michele explained. "So that was all I needed."
