The Hero of Death Becomes Her

[mitchern]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 3:11pm

Has to be Christopher Sieber... He is giving one of the strongest performances of the season, and manages to create such a full performance that evolves past the great Bruce Willis on screen. Plus, playing the 'straight' man against those ladies must be no easy feat. I hope the Tony nominators agree! 

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 3:39pm

Love him but let’s be real. A totally thankless role whose numbers could be cut and the show would actually probably improve. 

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 3:57pm

I don't blame Sieber, but I didn't like the version of Earnest that is in the musical. He didn't have the aloofness/nerdyness of Bruce Willis so I found it hard to understand how he could be so easily manipulated by the women. Also his songs are the most forgettable in a largely forgettable score. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 4:35pm

Not really. Any character actor could pull this off. The Helen and Madeline roles are a different story. It'll be interesting down the road once Hilty and Simard leave who replaced them.

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 5:42pm

Sieber’s role is definitely thankless here. On screen, you have him more intermingled with the ladies. Here, a lot of his material is reacting and being there while the ladies blow the roof off the place. 

He gets his one number, which is fun

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/29/25 at 5:51pm

His numbers can't be cut. Even if you want to argue their necessity from a dramatic standpoint, they're needed to cover costume changes for the women.

And having seen an understudy in the role, where Ernest felt like even more of a nonentity and the big Act II number unfortunately just laid there, Sieber makes the part work. It's the kind of performance that's easy to overlook, but the role needs a skilled comedian, not just a capable singer, and Sieber delivers.