Lea Michele Reveals She Got a Letter from Barbra Streisand — and Called Jonathan Groff Right After!
Lea Michele's dreams are coming true!
While visiting the Late Show with Seth Meyers on Monday, Michele opened up about hearing from her idol, Barbra Streisand, who originated the role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.
"I finally heard from Barbra," the Glee alum, who currently stars as Fanny in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, said after Meyers asked if she'd gotten the blessing from Streisand.
RELATED: Lea Michele Recalls the Emotional Moment She Learned She'd Be Starring in Broadway's 'Funny Girl'
"I got to work the other day and my dresser…had this, like, gold envelope," the 36-year-old actress said. "It was, I don't know, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, like getting invited."
Michele continued: "And I just knew. I was like, 'Is it from Barbra?' And she said it was."
"And 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," she 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 costar Ramin Karimloo, who plays Nicky Arnstein, to verify her letter was actually from Streisand since Karimloo 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."
Lloyd Bishop/NBC Lea Michele
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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 [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, Michele 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."
RELATED VIDEO: Lea Michele Will Join Broadway's Funny Girl as Fanny Brice After Beanie Feldstein's Early Exit
The Glee alum said she had multiple "mini" celebrations since she learned she'd be taking over the role of Fanny, a part she played before as Rachel Berry on the Fox musical series. She also sang the musical's show-stopping "Don't Rain on My Parade" at the 64th Annual Tony Awards in 2010 (and again on this year's Thanksgiving Day Parade).
She's previously said that landing the role (originated by Streisand in 1964) is "a dream come true," so the Spring Awakening sent her nothing but well wishes ever since the news was announced that she'd be starring in the show following Beanie Feldstein's exit.
"When I finally signed my contract and that was done, [Groff] came over, and we just popped open a bottle of champagne, and we just sat in the living room and toasted to that," she said.
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