Lea Michele Says 'Pitting Women Against Each Other' Is 'Sad' Following Her 'Funny Girl' Casting

Lea Michele is keeping things positive at Funny Girl.

The actress, 36, who begins performances Tuesday as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of the Jule Styne and Bob Merrill classic, tells PEOPLE she reached out to Beanie Feldstein — who headlined the musical when the production opened earlier this year — after seeing her take on the role.

"I saw the show. I wrote her and told her what an incredible job I thought that she did," Michele says in the upcoming issue of PEOPLE. "I think that everybody just thinks everything is so drama-filled. I also think that people really love the excitement of pitting women against each other, which I think is really sad and unfortunate."

One day before the Broadway production announced that Michele would be taking over the role of Fanny Brice, Feldstein revealed that she would be leaving the production earlier than expected after it was decided the show would go "in a different direction."

Michele says that she sent well wishes to Feldstein after seeing her in the production, which is directed by her former Spring Awakening director Michael Mayer.

"I was so grateful to get to see the show. I thought she was hilarious and beautiful and so wonderful. This is not an easy role, and she took it on with such bravery. And I wrote her and told her that," says Michele, also adding that she thought actress Julie Benko — who plays Fanny in the interim — was "extraordinary."

The Glee alum will perform the role of Fanny — originated by Barbra Streisand in 1964 — seven times a week, while Benko will headline the musical on her off day.

"We'll be sharing this role once I start. She'll be doing the Thursday performances. And so this is a team effort here, and I want everybody to support that," Michele tells PEOPLE.

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The actress says that she has "grown a lot" since her time on Glee and that she is finally ready to take on the role of Fanny Brice — something she says she was not ready to do after the Fox series concluded in 2015.

"I think that having this greater sense of self now is something that I'm so grateful [for], and I know that bringing that into this experience is so important," she says. "But I also really understand what it means to be in this position and be the lead of this show. It really is an important opportunity — to not only do a great job onstage every night, but do a great job offstage every single day, to be there for the cast and to be a leader. And that's something that I've really learned the importance of, especially over the past couple of years."

RELATED VIDEO: Lea Michele Will Join Broadway's Funny Girl as Fanny Brice After Beanie Feldstein's Early Exit

After numerous stalled revivals of Funny Girl — there were previous talks that she'd headline the musical when Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy had the rights to the show — Michele says that she eventually let the dream "go."

"I didn't feel like I could do the show or the role justice" at that time, she says. "I had done the role so much on Glee, I felt like I kind of exercised the muscle. And then I took the time to become a mother, which has been the greatest experience of my entire life."

Now son Ever, 2 — whom she shares with husband Zandy Reich — is enjoying watching Mommy do what she loves.

"He knows that when I work, I go and I sing. And I've shown him little clips and videos. I showed him me tapping, and he moves his feet. And it's really wonderful," she says. "I was so nervous to go back to work and leave him. But I spoke to so many incredible women in the Broadway community who are also moms. And all of these women just said it's important for him to see you working, and for him to see you doing what you love. So I just have to keep reminding myself of that."

Michele begins performances at Broadway's Funny Girl at the August Wilson Theatre Sept. 6.