Emily Skeggs? (and Bruce Understudy)

Emily is on temporary leave from the show. She left in the middle of February, I believe, and will be returning in May. I personally haven't seen Stanek as Bruce, but have heard nothing but positive comments about his portrayal.

I also saw both Michael and Jim as Bruce.. They play them slightly differently. For me anyway, Michael seems a little "off" right from the start, a little scary actually and you can't imagine how he's managed to "fit in" as long as he did.

Jim's portrayal is a little different - he keeps Bruce's issues more inside and I can totally understand how he could have hidden his problems and torments - until he can't. He seems like more the average guy that you wouldn't give a second glance to... hiding his inner self and his problems.

Emily and Lauren are both excellent also....and their differences are less well defined to me. I just enjoyed both of them.

Kathy, re Michael in FUN HOME. I heard from a couple of friends that he wasn't great in it. I love him, knowing him from Hedwig at first, and greatly admire his but I guess this just wasn't a great fit.

Jane2 said: "Kathy, re Michael in FUN HOME. I heard from a couple of friends that he wasn't great in it. I love him, knowing him from Hedwig at first, and greatly admire his but I guess this just wasn't a great fit.



"

Really? I loved Michael in the part...and I had not known him previously. I loved Jim also... Two different peas in a pod.

*****I just re-read my earlier comments...and I think I need to clarify because I didn't say exactly what I meant. I didn't mean that Michael was OFF in his performance. I meant that Bruce seemed like an "OFF" character, i.e. weird, off-beat.. so that if I knew him in real life, he would have made me nervous to be around. Unlike Jim, who played Bruce like someone I would not have expected to have a "hidden life."as he seemed more like the regular guy next door.

Updated On: 3/16/16 at 10:58 AM

I just clarified my above comments^^^^.....which I think may have been misleading (my fault - my apologies for not saying exactly what I was trying to say).

I saw Lauren the first weekend she went on, and I assumed her performance was so similar to Skeggs due to a lack of time to fully explore the character. It's interesting to read that she's still playing it similarly. Regardless, I very much enjoyed her and particularly her rendition of "Changing My Major."

As for Michael, I found him to be brilliant both times I saw him. He completely disappeared into the part and to echo an earlier comment, was downright frightening at times. The tension he created throughout the show really served the ensemble well and only made Judy Kuhn's "Days and Days" all the more tragic.

Add me to the list of people who think Michael is brilliant. I've been a fan of his since Sweeney, and I've loved every performance I've seen him give since then. He's truly remarkable as Bruce, and he's gotten better and better every time I've seen the show (now 4 times, including once at the Public).

Saw Cerveris Off Broadway and Stanek on Broadway. Found their performance equally compelling. I was disappointed at first that Cerveris was out when I saw it on Broadway, but found him to be excellent in the role, and a better singer than Cerveris.