If you’re a celebrity in the midst of a whole maelstrom of gossip, PR-wise, the way out is apparently through front-facing-camera comedy. Beanie Feldstein recorded an Instagram video this afternoon in which she starts off by elliptically referencing the news surrounding her departure from the Broadway production of Funny Girl, joking, “I’m just checking in. What have I missed? What’s going on?†Then Feldstein reveals that she has just been to a doctor who told her that she has tonsillitis. Feldstein says she cannot go onstage for her performances the weekend of July 15 but that she “cannot wait to do my last two weeks.†After that, Feldstein adds, “Ya gotta laugh at a certain point. When it rains, it pours … on your old pal Bean.â€
In case you have somehow missed what has been going on: Feldstein announced on July 10 that she will be leaving the Broadway production early because they had decided to take the show in a different direction. The next day, Funny Girl announced a new direction (Glee joke!): Lea Michele, who will be taking over from Feldstein starting in September. Between Feldstein’s departure and Michele’s start, Feldstein’s understudy Julie Benko is playing Fanny Brice. Given the levels of “Smash in real life†all this has taken on, we strongly recommend that everyone involved in the production stay away from smoothies for the foreseeable future.