Lea Michele opened her first Carnegie Hall concert with a flourish, strutting and beaming as she made her way down the aisle to the stage in her sheer black dress belting out the first of many showstoppers, “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” a highlight from her recent Broadway run headlining the recent Funny Girl revival.

 

For the next 90 minutes, Michele treated her adoring audience to more Funny Girl numbers, other show tunes and pop tunes from the TV series Glee, all delivered with her effortlessly powerhouse voice. Her between-songs patter, though charming, was a mite excessive—I heard people grumbling afterward that she talked too much—but obviously the bigness of the moment contributed to some nerves while she spoke about her life and career.

 

Michele remembered being in this very hall at a young age watching other Broadway greats, hoping she would follow them one day. She obviously did—and on the journey through her early career, she resurrected “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables, her first Broadway show; followed by “Gliding” from Ragtime, which she starred in alongside Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and her beloved Marin Mazzie. 

 

Michele also told the story of her audition for Spring Awakening, at which she was asked to sing a pop song. The naïve 14-year-old could only think of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” prostitute Mary Magdalene’s Jesus Christ Superstar power ballad. The grownup Michele sang it winkingly, knowingly and, of course, beautifully. 

 

For this special night, Michele’s special guests were her good friends and costars in Spring Awakening and Glee, respectively. First, Jonathan Groff joined her for a wonderful duet on “Word of Your Body” that segued into a thrilling bit of Sondheim’s “Somewhere,” then Darren Criss joined Lea for a spectacular “Suddenly Seymour” and, with Criss strumming an acoustic guitar, a touching take on Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

 

After those dynamic duos, Michele kept the Broadway hits coming: "Papa Can You Hear Me" was followed by "Maybe This Time" and then a terrific Funny Girl medley of “I’m the Greatest Star,” “People” and “Music That Makes Me Dance.” She followed that with a boisterous “My Man,” a song the real Fanny Brice sang in concert but that wasn’t in the stage musical of Funny Girl—although Barbra Streisand sang it in the movie. Pianist and music director Steven Jamail and his taut, tight band provided strong accompaniment throughout.

 

For her lone encore, Michele sang a tearfully reflective "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," showcasing a voice of passionate restraint. She promised the cheering fansthat she would return to Broadway soon—which was music to everyone’s ears.