Interview: Stephen Mark Lukas talks taking the stage as Nick Arnstein in “Funny Girl” on tour and on Broadway

An iconic musical comedy tap dances into Music Hall at Fair Park with the North American tour of the 2022 Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” running through August 18. The final show of Broadway Dallas’ 2023-24 season, “Funny Girl” follows the unlikely journey of Fanny Brice from a tenacious young woman with big showbusiness dreams in the early 1900s to the star of the “Ziegfeld Follies.” Along the way, she falls in love with the suave Nick Arnstein, whose debonair looks and charming presence contrast his questionable personal ventures like horse racing and gambling. The ups and downs of their relationship often take center stage, even as Fanny’s career rockets her into superstardom.

Stephen Mark Lukas certainly knows how to navigate those ups and downs onstage. Lukas, an accomplished actor who’s performed as Elder Price in “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway and on tour, started as the understudy for Nick on Broadway in 2022 and now performs in the role night in and night out on the tour. In his roughly two and a half years playing Nick, he’s developed chemistry with six different actors who have played Fanny Brice.

Lukas explains that the show takes place primarily through Fanny looking back on her life in a flashback. “All of the characters that we meet in this show sort of exist in her memory, and so the show, therefore, very much revolves around the woman who’s playing Fanny,” Lukas says. “I really have to adjust my performance to be present with the actress who’s playing Fanny and to respond to what she’s giving me.”

Currently, Lukas stars alongside Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny in the ongoing tour. “She’s really honoring who she is in the role and bringing a lot of herself to it,” Lukas says, praising McCrimmon as “spectacular” and “an incredible singer.” He says he’s seen his performance evolve alongside McCrimmon’s and the rest of the cast as they’ve toured together around the country and developed an even greater familiarity with their characters. “You know, it’s probably not done evolving in some way,” Lukas says of his performance.

Lukas finds that he brings a lot of himself into Nick, a role with the kind of “anti-hero qualities” the actor has often found himself drawn to during his career. “Nick is a fascinating character. I absolutely love playing him, and there’s so many layers to him,” Lukas says.

When audiences first meet Nick, Lukas calls him a put-together “man about town” and “very much a romantic.” He says the revival developed Nick’s character “to make him more human and to give him a little more motivation” and even introduced more singing into the role. “As the show progresses, he has to wrestle with some of his really deep-seated demons, and it’s just a really interesting journey to get to play every night.”

Whether it’s starring in regional productions as Curly in Oklahoma! or Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast,” Lukas feels he’s often played characters who have to “learn some hard lessons” throughout the show. They each clearly have romantic motivations too, which appeals to Lukas. “I’m fascinated by romance, by what connects people and the entropy of attraction between people,” Lukas says, adding that he also enjoys bringing his own humor into the show’s comedic moments with Fanny.

Lukas enjoys the opportunity to perform in those classic musicals. He sees his performances as opportunities to “breath new life” into well-tread material and surprise audiences with “fresh and exciting” ways to connect with the show. “I’d say that’s sort of my superpower as far as doing these types of shows goes,” Lukas says.

When it comes to “Funny Girl,” he says the production at Fair Park has “all the best of what makes people love musicals.” He hopes audiences connect to Fanny’s story of perseverance and her refusal to accept the limits placed upon her by others. “I think that really the message of the show is to embrace authenticity and to show up authentically,” Lukas says. “If you’re able to do that with the strength and resolve of somebody like Fanny Brice, then you can really have an impact on the world around you and change things for the better.”

“Funny Girl” runs through August 18 at Music Hall at Fair Park as part of the 2023/24 Germania Insurance Broadway Series presented by Broadway Dallas. For more information about the show, including how to purchase tickets, visit https://broadwaydallas.org/shows/funny-girl/.

This interview has been edited for clarity.