Lea Michele Reunites With ‘Glee’ Pal Darren Criss Backstage At ‘Funny Girl’

Lea Michele, 36, had another Glee visitor connected the acceptable of Funny Girl. Darren Criss, 35, and his wife Mia Criss visited his erstwhile co-star backstage connected Broadway to witnesser the real-life Rachel Berry’s imagination travel true. The trio took an adorable representation unneurotic that Lea posted to Instagram. “The magnitude of times this feline has heard maine sing Don’t Rain On My Parade 😂 I emotion you @darrencriss and @miavoncriss ❤️,” she captioned the shot.

Darren played Blaine Anderson, who was Kurt’s emotion involvement from the Dalton Academy Warblers, successful 5 seasons of Glee. He’s been adjacent friends with Lea since the amusement wrapped successful 2015. Darren is the third Glee alum to spot Lea in Funny Girl, after Jonathan Groff and Becca Tobin. Jonathan was really determination opening nighttime with Glee creator Ryan Murphy connected Sept. 6, erstwhile Lea received multiple lasting ovations.

Lea Michele and Darren Criss astatine the ‘Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known’ premiere successful April 2022 (Photo: Dave Allocca/StarPix/Shutterstock)

In an EXCLUSIVE interrogation with HollywoodLife, Jonathan revealed the words of encouragement that helium gave to Lea connected the greeting of her Funny Girl debut. “I was texting that morning, I was driving up from Pennsylvania wherever I live, my ma and I were coming up to spot her. And I said, ‘it feels similar Christmas morning,’ ” Jonathan told us. “And we FaceTimed the nighttime before, and I said, ‘it feels similar Christmas Eve’, similar erstwhile you’re successful anticipation of the large day.”

Lea replaced Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl. Fans cognize this has been a longtime imagination of Lea’s Glee character Rachel Berry. Lea archetypal sang “Parade” from Funny Girl connected the Fox bid successful 2009 and was past invited to sing the opus astatine the Tony Awards successful 2010. In Glee‘s 5th season, writers helped Rachel’s imagination travel existent erstwhile she moved to New York City to combat for the relation of Fanny, which she ends up landing.

After Lea’s debut Funny Girl performance, the histrion took to Instagram to convey each of her supporters and observe the evening. Lea wrote, “I privation to accidental convey you full heartedly for the enactment pursuing my archetypal show connected the broadway signifier arsenic Fanny Brice. I cognize I’ve said it before, but joining this formed has genuinely been the top honor.”