New York Premiere Of Barry Manilow Musical HARMONY To Play National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene In 2020

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present the acclaimed musical Harmony by the legendary Barry Manilow and his longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman in February 2020.

NYTF's production marks the New York debut of the musical, which tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six talented young men in 1920s Germany who took the world by storm with their signature blend of sophisticated close harmonies and uproarious stage antics, until their inclusion of Jewish singers put them on a collision course with history.

Harmony will be presented in English. Previews begin on February 11 and the production opens on March 4 through March 29, 2020, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, NYC. Tickets, which start at $79, are available at www.harmonyanewmusical.com and www.nytf.org.

See Barry's announcement here!

"National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is excited to bring Harmony to New York City," said Zalmen Mlotek, Artistic Director of NYTF. "Harmony speaks to the human spirit in the face of adversity and atrocity. The story of the Comedian Harmonists, whose soaring careers were cut short due to anti-Semitism, reflects the spiritual resistance that was necessary to get through one of the most dehumanizing periods in history. It's important that their story about the human spirit during the darkest of times be told. Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman have created a show that speaks to the best and worst of humanity."

"Harmony is finally being presented and I couldn't be more thrilled," Barry Manilow said. "I am very proud we have found a perfect home for this labor of love of over 20 years."

"This is a show about the quest for Harmony in what turned out to be the most discordant chapter in human history," Bruce Sussman said. "I could not be more thrilled and proud that Harmony's New York debut will be in this theatre, associated with this museum, that overlooks the Statue of Liberty."

"We are very proud of the growing partnership between the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. The new production of Harmony underscores our mutual commitment to spiritual resistance and exploring history through storytelling," said Bruce C. Ratner, Chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.

Harmony tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a group of six talented young men, Jewish and gentile, who came together in 1920s Germany and took the world by storm with their signature blend of sophisticated close harmonies and uproarious stage antics. Together they sold millions of records, starred in a dozen films and packed the houses of the most prestigious concert halls around the globe, until the world they knew changed forever. Their incredible story inspired music industry legends Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman to create this spectacular new musical with an original score that celebrates this extraordinary group of friends and ensures their quest for true Harmony in the most discordant chapter of human history will never be forgotten.

The legendary Manilow and theatre veteran Sussman have collaborated for nearly a half century. Together they have written hundreds of songs for all media-films, television, and stage, including the Grammy Award-winning Copacabana.

Described by Rolling Stone as "the showman of our generation", Barry Manilow is a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award winner, an Academy Award nominee, and has sold 85 million records. His theatrical roots go back to his days in the mailroom at CBS in New York, when, at 18, he wrote the entire original score for a musical adaptation for the melodrama, The Drunkard. The show ran Off-Broadway for eight years. He made his film scoring debut in 1994 with the Warner Brothers animated film Thumbelina, for which he contributed both songs and underscoring with his Harmony collaborator, Bruce Sussman.

His second animated feature, The Pebble and the Penguin, also featured songs by Manilow and Sussman. Copacabana - The Musical (written with Sussman) played a sold-out run in London's West End for 18 months, toured the U.K and then the U.S. and is touring across the globe. Manilow was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2013, he finished a sold-out, six-week run, Manilow on Broadway, at the St. James Theatre, and currently is performing on Broadway for a limited engagement at Nederlander's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre through August 17.

Serving as Producer is Ken Davenport, who most recently won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical for Once on This Island and a Tony for Best Musical for Kinky Boots, and received Tony nominations for Spring Awakening (Revival of a Musical), The Visit (Musical), and You're Welcome America (Special Theatrical Event). The creative team and casting will be announced soon.

Harmony is part of NYTF's season of "Spiritual Resistance," which features artistic and theatrical works that explore themes of struggle against oppression. The programming - which includes the one-woman show Hannah Senesh, chronicling the true story of a young woman who parachuted into Europe to save Jews from Nazi hands - provides artistic expression concurrent with the exhibition Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away. being presented at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. NYTF won a 2019 Drama Desk Award for its work last season.

Watch highlights from the 2013 Atlanta run of Harmony below: