Funny Girl Coming to the Overture Center: Reflecting True Love
Izaiah Montaque Harris performing as Eddie Ryan in Funny Girl, which will be playing at the Overture Center in late December.
by Jonathan Gramling
There are things that our parents do when we are children — like making us eat our vegetables — that are for our own, long-term good. We don’t like it and we may need to be dragged to those good things kicking and screaming. But as we become older, we are so appreciative that our parents had their way.
If it weren’t for his mother’s persistence, Izaiah Montaque Harris may not be where he is today, performing as Eddie Ryan in the musical Funny Girl.
“When I was five-years-old, my mom said, ‘You’re going to stay in tap dance classes,’” Harris said. “I said, ‘What?’ And she said yes. I didn’t really like it at first. But as she kept me in it, I found some friends and I was like, ‘Cool, I’m going to stay in that.’ Along this journey to grammar school and things like that I’ve discovered acting. After that, it was singing because I love listening to and imitating Michael Bublé and Usher. Theater really came into play was when I decided I wanted a voice of my own. All throughout grammar school, I was drawing. But I was looking for a voice of my own and a community of my own. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, as a person who doesn’t play basketball — it’s not that I didn’t play basketball, I just wasn’t interested in the sport as much as other people — I ended up going to this program called, ‘After School Matters.’ They would pay you to do art, so I decided to do art. I was thinking, ‘Am I going to drawing or am I going to do musical theater? I might as well try musical theater. My mom made me watch all the time.’ That’s when theater really schooled me up.”
Although he thoroughly enjoys it, performing in front of audiences and receiving their adulation isn’t the only thing that fulfills Harris as an actor. It’s the community of actors.
“Theater just opens you up to a community that is unlike any other,” Harris said. “These people just really put their heart and soul on the line. When I say that, they practice for weeks and months and years beforehand and then they bring it to the stage. When you are in a cohesive show with everyone liking each other, it’s just so easy. It’s not like really liking each other. You just admire the work that other people put in and just meet in the middle. And the middle is the stage. That’s how theater got me.”
Harris went to Columbia College Chicago to study vocal performance, laying a foundation of dance, acting and singing that landed Harris’ role in Funny Girl.
“Through the Chicago Tap scene, there were Chicago Tap Festivals,” Harris recalled. “And there was a woman there named Ayodele Casel. She was the person who had this very unique style. And I was just infatuated with her. I ended up staying aware of her doings online. Eventually I moved to New York in August 2021. And I hit her up and said, ‘Hey are there any opportunities that you could see me in as a singer, tap dancer or actor? I would love to jump in it.’ She said, ‘Actually, I have the perfect opportunity for you.’ I auditioned for Funny Girl and actually I auditioned for the Broadway version and that’s when I started falling in love with it because I watched the movie and did some research on it. I didn’t get the Broadway version, but two years later, I officially left for this production.”
The plot of Funny Girl — told through song and dance — revolves around the on again, off again romance of Fanny Brice and Nick Arnstein as Brice rises in fame as a member of the Ziegfeld Follies. Harris’ Eddie Ryan has a front row seat to the drama.
“Eddie Ryan is the best friend of Fanny Brice,” Harris said. “Fanny Brice is this rising star in the entertainment industry. I meet her before she is a rising star and give her a couple of chances to be the rising star she is. Eddie Ryan is just infatuated with her in a practical sense because she just believes in herself and she is strong. She is really, really talented. But also in the romantic sense, he has a little crush on her. But he has to put that aside when she friend zones him. He’s just there for her throughout the rest of the play. He’s her choreographer. He’s her confidant when she feels down. And he just plays that role very well. Let me also say that he is his own person. He is a choreographer. He has his own ambitions to be a choreographer for the Ziegfeld Follies. Also he is a great tap dancer. But he definitely is afraid of her hurting herself. It is like leaving him behind. But then he has his own connection with Ziegfeld. He has his own connection with dancers. He ends up finding his own square to stand on. It just becomes a thing when he sees her hurting herself and he can’t do anything about it. She is going down this path where he can’t really help her with so he wishes her good luck.”
Harris feels that there is something for everyone in Funny Girls and that everyone of all ages will be thoroughly entertained.
“You’re getting blown away by the talent,” Harris exclaimed. “But you are also going to be able to relate to this story. You have these people who really go through real-life things. And whether your passion is singing, dancing and actng or whatever it is, it is easy to get washed away in your career. And it is always a journey to return to yourself. Or you can relate to the person who is just trying his hardest but is also messing up a lot. And actually that can go for Eddie Ryan or Nick Arnstein. The point is you are going to be able to relate to some person in the show and at the same time, you are going to be blown away by our amazing talent onstage. There’s a lot of music and dancing while we convey the story line. It’s a good thing all around.”
Harris has been on the road with Funny Girl since August 2023 and has performed in over 40 cities during that time. And he is still enjoying every moment.
“I love theater more than anything,” Harris said. “It really comes down to self-expression and also telling stories. I love telling stories about my life and also other people’s lives. They need to be told. Those stories will teach you more than just one quote, especially after you get the pre-story on that quote and then you hear the quote, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is going to last a lifetime.’”
But it won’t last a lifetime. And when Harris’ run with Funny Girl ends, there are other roles that he would like to explore.
“I would love to be in Guys & Dolls in any role in that show,” Harris said. “I would also love to be anyone in Ragtime because it is such a powerful story. I would love to be anyone in Mary Poppins. Also I would love to be in the classic tap shows like Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk. There is also this one called Black and Blue, which is very, very incredible.”
So come out and enjoy the show. Funny Girl will be at Overture December 1 – January 8, a perfect time to take the whole family. Izaiah Montaque Harris guarantees that you will be not be disappointed.