‘Harmony’ on Broadway: Sensational Sextet
metroweekly.comHarmony.It took several years of workshops and regional stagings to get the show to its current form, but to paraphrase one of Manilow’s own songs, “Looks Like They Made It.” After a highly praised 2022 run at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, the production finally transferred to Broadway at the Barrymore Theater.
It was well worth the wait.Stage stalwart Chip Zien (best known for originating the role of the Baker in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods) leads a modest but marvelous cast as the older Josef Roman Cyckowski, aka “Rabbi.” Reminiscing, he narrates the tale of his fellow singers, all of whom he meets in 1927.“These are my friends, my buddies,” he tells us. “I don’t think human beings can get any closer.” We’re then introduced to orchestrator and arranger Harry (Zal Owen), a chain-smoking tenor, Lesh (Steven Telsey), a senior year medical student whose passion lies more in song, Erich (Eric Peters), a composer who goes by the name Chopin (Blake Roman), Bobby (Sean Bell), a somewhat pretentious bass-baritone, and a younger version of Rabbi (Danny Kornfeld), who once trained as a Jewish religious leader in Poland.As their star rises throughout Europe, so too does Hitler’s power.
Given that three of the group’s members are of Jewish descent and Chopin has fallen in love with Jewish-born Ruth (Julie Benko), circumstances prove problematic.
Mary (Sierra Boggess), a gentile who vows devotion to Rabbi, is also troubled by ominous world affairs. Although some Nazi officers proclaim admiration for the group, they are eventually forced to stop performing.Given the subject matter, it would be misleading to classify Harmony as a musical comedy.
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