Izaiah Montaque Harris taps into ‘Funny Girl’

(News4usonline) – The role of Eddie Ryan is a fascinating character in the hit Broadway musical “Funny Girl.” On a national tour with Southern California stops at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, “Funny Girl” gets a wow for its entertainment value. 

Fanny Brice (Katerina McCrimmon) is the over-the-top star of the show as a comedienne and singer. Nick Arnstein (played by Stephen Mark Lukas) is Brice’s love interest and quality-low villain because his impulsive gambling habits threaten to run his romance with Fanny right into the ground. 

Then there is Ryan, the third wheel in this tale of love, betrayal, and eventually heartbreak. Izaiah Montaque Harris plays Ryan, Brice’s fly on the wall, dance buddy and confidante. In the musical, Ryan gets an expanded look compared to the 1968 flick “Funny Girl,” which starred the irrepressible Barbara Streisand. 

In this version of “Funny Girl,” Ryan has a flair for the moment as evidenced by his superior tap dancing skills and his unabashed acknowledgment to showcase those skills. With Brice blowing everyone away with her humorous takes and Arnstein coming off as a bit stuffy, Ryan delivers a welcomed breath of fresh air to this production. 

The dialogue engagement for Harris is not as in-depth as the lines for McCrimmon as Brice and Lukas as Arnstein, but you most assuredly feel Ryan’s presence. You also see it. Harris takes the tap dancing skills he learned at a young age and brings to life the memory of great hoofers, including Maurice and Gregory Hines and the famous Nicolas Brothers (Fayard and Harold).  

Harris as Ryan has one spotlight solo in the first part of the performance and nearly steals the show. There are other spots during the musical where Harris shows off his extraordinary tap dancing abilities, including a dazzling number he performs with McCrimmon. 

While McCrimmon gets the lion’s share of attention due to her unreal vocal range and vaudeville underdog storyline blended in with a heartache love story, Harris as Ryan revs up “Funny Girl” with off-the-wall bouncing energy. Harris is fun to watch as Ryan. 

As Ryan, Harris is in step with Brice, as a friend, mentor and performer. On stage, Harris and McCrimmon are in sync with one another like peanut butter and jelly and bounce off each other’s lines effortlessly. Harris brings a big bundle of good vibes and enthusiasm to the role of Ryan. This makes Ryan likable and a character you would want to root for.

During a phone interview with News4usonline, Harris provided some insight about his role as Eddie Ryan, what’s it like to be part of a major production like “Funny Girl,” and his tap dancing background.     

News4usonline: What is it about “Funny Girl” that resonates with so many people?

Izaiah Montaque Harris: “I think, first of all, it’s the realism of the show. It feels like very old-time theatre. For this production, we don’t have a lot of props…There are a lot of things on the stage, and so I think with the success of this run, specifically, it lets the audience feel just how we express the story. But then also with the lines, and just the character arcs like especially with Fanny Brice being one that does not exactly fit in a lot of people’s categories that you can mold. That she’s so talented, comedy-wise and also singing-wise that she’s undeniably a force to be reckoned with. That’s just the climate these days. The underdog is getting the bone. But then also it has a lot of real truths, where love comes and then it goes.”  

N4U: A lot of people can identify not fitting in the shoebox. Have you ever felt that way?

IMH: “Oh, yeah. For sure. There’s so many times. For instance, when I was younger, the first time I felt it when I realized I was different was because I was light-skinned. Being in a Black household, you have so many different people, like different skin tones. In my household, I was the lightest-skinned one. We would be fine with it, but I would always feel a little bit weird and then I would move on with my life. But eventually, when I went to public schools and out in the world, I realized that there’s not a lot of light-skins [Black people] out there. So I was like confused and just feeling a little…I just had to get used to it.”           

N4U: How long did it take you to accept who you were? Did it take you a long time or was it a gradual process? 

IMH: “Gradual process, for sure. At first, you try to get people to change their opinion on you, but you have to like strengthen your opinion of yourself to make that not important anymore.”      

N4U: “How did finding outlets like dancing and theatre allow you to come into your own?

IMH: “I really liked acting when I was younger because of shows like ‘Whose Line Is it Anyway?’ And movies with Dick Van Dyke  …..which felt like just quirky and all over the place. I loved that stuff. So then it was really like singing and tap dancing that really me feel at home where I could just…I was so sporadic and I’m a Sagittarius. I guess that plays into it. I’m like all over the place. But when I can just sing all these notes and just soothe myself with my singing voice or with the rhythms that I make with my feet I feel like I make my own home.”  

N4U: “Who Is Eddie Ryan and how does your talent fit into this role or character? 

IMH: “I think for me, Eddie Ryan is…he’s just a person who would love to see his mate succeed. I think there’s a genuine naivete about him as well. I definitely can relate to that. And in a lot of ways, where he feels like he loves too hard in wrong ways where he just says the wrong things sometimes. He’s also always there. So it’s like him trying to find out,  find how to, despite himself, in the ways that he needs to, and encourages himself in the ways that he needs to.”  

N4U: What is it about dancing and performing that do you love or enjoy? 

IMH: “I feel like it’s just like expressing myself, just expressing myself in the most genuine way. I just feel like I’m a singer. I’m a tap dancer. I’m a person that likes to omit color in light and so, I appreciate the mediums of singing and tap dancing because it makes me feel good. It just really makes me feel good.” 

N4U: What was the audition process like for you? 

IMH: “The auditioning process was interesting. I auditioned for the role on Broadway. I didn’t get in, but a year later they called me back for the tour, and at the time I was just getting used to New York, finally after being there for two years. I was getting used to New York because I’m from Chicago, and as soon as I started to get used to it, I auditioned. I did the callback and then later that day after the second callback I found out I got the role.”   

Top Image Caption: Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan in the First National Touring Company of Funny Girl. Photo by Corey-Martineau