"Funny Girl" musical cast to share wide range of talent with Colorado audiences
"Funny Girl," once a hit film and Broadway musical, is now touring the United States for the first time ever. Next week, Funny Girl's cast will arrive at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts for a 12-night stay at the Buell Theatre.
While the show follows the journey of the iconic Fanny Brice, the wide range of talent on stage at any given moment is evident to audiences.
One of the stars of the show is Izaiah Montaque Harris, who portrays Eddie Ryan in the production. Not only does Harris act and sing in the show, but he's also able to show off his extensive skillset in tap dancing.
"Everything has really led me to this year and a half," Harris said.
Harris is the son of a dance instructor. He spent his childhood absorbing different dance styles from his mother and grew a great talent in tap. Now, he's able to showcase his work under the spotlight in Funny Girl.
"To able to act and sing in the same show, it is the most special experience I have ever had in my life," Harris said.
Only CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas was given backstage access to the cast and crew of Funny Girl before their Denver visit. He joined Harris as he visited a group of students in Salt Lake City to share his craft.
Students at Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts were treated to a masterclass, a 90-minute lesson with Harris.
Harris said this was one of his ways of being able to help inspire students to pursue their craft.
"It is a long ongoing lesson of hard work and putting your heart into something," Harris said. "Arts has a direct correlation to expression. That is the most heart-filling thing that I do with my feet. Just to be able to pass it on."
This isn't the first time CBS News Colorado has visited with students from that school. Thomas recently highlighted how students like Gray Henry were able to learn dances to Michael Jackson's music via the cast of "MJ" the musical.
Henry said she has only been tap dancing for less than three years. Even with some experience, she admitted Harris challenged them.
"It was pretty hard," Henry said.
"Tap-dance is a very technical aspect, some people compare it to mathematics. You have to do the small steps so many times before you do the next slightly bigger steps, and that takes years," Harris said.
Henry said her class was able to absorb all the intricacies of the dance Harris taught them.
"I think I liked this one because it was so challenging," Henry said.
"(I am) walking them through what it means to swing and what it means to make all these sounds with your feet and do something you didn't think you could do. That means more to me than anything," Harris said.
Harris said it was important that students realized they needed to be technically and confidentially accurate in their tapping to excel in the dance. He said he hoped Funny Girl and the masterclass could help them gain inspiration and confidence in their aspirations and art.
"I think (a masterclass) is super important because a lot of us don't think we have the abilities to make it this far. But then you meet these Broadway stars, these swings, actors, professionals and coaches, and you realize they have the exact same story as us," Henry said. "And, here they are now. Because they took that shot. That is really inspiring."
Funny Girl plays the DCPA from Dec. 10 through Dec. 22. For more information on tickets visit DCPA's website.
CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
