Video: HARMONY Celebrates First Preview on Broadway

A sold-out crowd welcomed the new Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman musical Harmony to Broadway last night.  The first preview performance took place on the stage of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street) and, following the curtain call, the Comedian Harmonists went from stage lights to marquee lights to the cheers of the fans outside the stage door.  The original musical is based on the true story of the musical group, The Comedian Harmonists, one of the most successful groups in Germany and around the globe. In the 1920’s and 30’s they sold millions of records, made dozens of films and sold-out the biggest venues around the world from Carnegie Hall to the London Palladium.   They were considered one of the original boy bands with their heavenly harmonies and musical comedy antics. The Harmonists are played by Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, and Steven Tesley.  Harmony boasts a total of 20 Broadway debuts with five of the six Harmonists taking their first bows on a Broadway stage. Harmony officially opens on Monday, November 13, 2023.

Check out footage from the celebration last night!
 
Harmony features an original new score by legendary Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award® winner Barry Manilow with lyrics and book by Drama Desk Award Winner, Bruce Sussman. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle (The Music Man, Hello Dolly!), this timely and captivating rags-to-riches story lost to history comes to dazzling life with a sensational cast of Broadway favorites.
 
The show stars Chip Zien; Sierra Boggess; Julie Benko; the Comedian Harmonists Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, and Steven Telsey; Allison Semmes and Andrew O’Shanick. They join Zak Edwards, Dan Hoy, Bruce Landry, Rhonnirose Mantilla, Daniel Z. Miller, Benjamin H. Moore, Matthew Mucha, Constantine Pappas, Kayleen Seidl, Kyla Stone, Bronwyn Tarboton, Kate Wesler, Stuart Zagnit, and Lee Zarrett.
 
The creative team for Harmony includes Beowulf Boritt (scenic design), Linda Cho & Ricky Lurie (costume design), Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer (lighting design), Dan Moses Schreier (sound design), batwin + robin productions (media design), Tom Watson (wig & hair design), Jamibeth Margolis, CSA (casting), Sara Edwards (associate director/choreographer), John O’Neill (music director), Michael Aarons (music coordinator), Doug Walter (orchestrations) and Scott Taylor Rollison (production stage manager).
 
Tickets are now on sale starting at $59 online, or by calling (800) 447 7400 or (212) 239-6200.

Harmony is based in part on The Comedian Harmonist Archive as curated by the late Dr. Peter Czada.

A New York Times Critic’s Pick, the musical received a 2002 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Musical and an award for Outstanding Best Book of a Musical and the Off-Broadway Alliance’s Best New Musical for 2022. It also received eight 2022-2023 Outer Critics Circle Award nominations including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and two 2022 Lucille Lortel Award nominations including Outstanding Musical.
 
Harmony is produced by Ken Davenport, Sandi Moran, Garry Kief and Hunter Arnold, and joined by Scott Abrams, Jonathan & Rae Corr, Adam Riemer, Marco Santarelli, Tom D'Angora, Michael D’Angora, Paul Gavriani, Nick Padgett, Neil Gooding Productions, Christine Petti, Rob Kolson, James L. Nederlander, Mark Jacobs, Steve Kyriakis & Matt Donaldson, Jamie deRoy, Ira & Yael Kleinman, Matthew Rosenthal, NETworks Presentations LLC, Good Productions, Sig Anderman, PickleStar A Cohen, Michael B. Cox, Susan DuBow, Greg Field, David Gemunder, David & Lori Hsieh, IN UNISON Productions, Larry & Robin Kaufman, Willette & Manny Klausner, Sara Miller McCune, Michael Patrick, Harvey & Sandy Platt, Mark Revitz, Jason Rose, Larry Starr,  Laurie M. Tisch, Witzend Productions, Harold Matzner, Addiss Keena/Amuse, Inc., Burba Hayes LLC/Hunter Johnson, Joanne Sherry Mitchell/Michelle Kaplan, Viva Diva USA INC/Theatre Nerd Productions,  Bellanca Vasi/Jon & Ron Yonover, and David Bryant/Siegel StoryLineProject.
 

Photo credit: Paul Aphisit