Lea Michele treated the final-night audience of Broadway’s Funny Girl to an extra song Sunday, performing “My Man,” popularized by Fanny Brice in 1921 but not included in the musical’s original score.
Michele performed the song – omitting, as did Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film version, the infamous “he beats me too” introductory verse used by Brice and Billie Holiday – after Sunday’s curtain call. (Watch it below.)
After thanking the audience, cast and crew profusely, Michele said, “If you know me then you will know that this is the hardest song I’ve ever sung and I want to give it to you” just before launching into “My Man.”
Although she didn’t explain the “hardest song” reference, Glee fans will remember that Michele’s character Rachel Berry sang the song in a 2011 episode over a montage of the actor Cory Monteith’s Finn character. Monteith, who died two years later, and Michele had dated in real life.
Michele’s Sunday performance closed the show’s Broadway run after a record-breaking week at the box office. Funny Girl grossed $2,137,057, a best-ever figure for an eight-performance week at the August Wilson Theatre. (The production’s overall best week was $2,405,901 for a special nine performances over Christmas week in December.)
The show’s final eight performances were shared by Michele and understudy Julie Benko, each playing four performances. At its closing on Sunday, the production, which originally starred Beanie Feldstein, had played 599 performances and 30 previews. Funny Girl recouped its $16.5 million capitalization last month.
A national tour of the production, starring Katerina McCrimmon as Brice, launches Sept. 9 in Providence, Rhode Island.
A complete Broadway box office report, delayed due to the Labor Day holiday, will be posted later.