Warren Carlyle, who won a 2014 Tony Award for Best Choreography for After Midnight, will direct and choreograph the previously announced New York debut of Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman’s musical Harmony .
The musical, which tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six talented young men in 1920s Germany, will begin previews at The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene February 11, 2020, prior to an official opening March 4. The production will be presented in English.
Carlyle, who was also Tony-nominated for his direction of After Midnight and his choreography for the recent revival of Kiss Me, Kate, said in a statement, “I’m thrilled to be directing Harmony and helping bring this show to New York. It’s an important message and it could not have found a better home to start a New York run than the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.”
The creative team will also include musical director John O’Neill, scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, and sound designer Dan Moses Schreier. Casting is by Jamibeth Margolis, CSA.
Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of NYTF, said in an earlier statement, “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.”
The production will continue through March 29 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza.
Harmony, which was seen at the La Jolla Playhouse in the late '90s, was recently produced in Atlanta and Los Angeles, where it won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award. National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) produces the New York engagement in association with Ken Davenport.
