Stephen Mark Lukas makes sublime turn in ‘Funny Girl’
‘Funny Girl’Through July 14The Kennedy Center$49-$189Kennedy-center.org With his striking good looks and sublime singing voice, out actor Stephen Mark Lucas is the ideal musical theater leading man, a title he both nails and thoroughly enjoys.
He’s played Elder Price in “The Book of Mormon” both on Broadway and on tour, and regionally, he’s wowed audiences performing classic parts like Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls,” Joe Hardy in “Damn Yankees,” Lancelot in “Camelot,” and Curly in “Oklahoma.” He’s now playing Nick Arnstein, the love interest of Katerina McCrimmon’s Fanny Brice in the national tour of the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl.” Composed by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, it’s the musical story of comedian Brice’s rise from anonymity to stardom via vaudeville, Ziegfeld Follies, radio, and some film.
While cementing the Brice legend, the show also became inextricably linked to Barbra Streisand through the 1964 Broadway hit and later movie musical that made her a star.
When we meet Arnstein, a suave, mustachioed gambler, he seems on top of the world, but that soon proves otherwise. Lukas says, “He serves as a bit of an antagonist, but his shortcomings are what pave the way for Fanny’s triumphant ending.” Certainly, the show still features fabulous tuneful hits like “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People.” But now there’s an updated book from Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart, which strives to make Arnstein a little more likeable, he says.
