Julieta Cervantes
Harmony
The seed of Barry Manilow and longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman’s Broadway show, Harmony: A New Musical (Barrymore Theatre, booking to Sept 1, 2024), is certainly fascinating. The Comedian Harmonists were one of the most successful musical performance groups in Europe in the years leading up to World War II. Half the Germany-based sextet was Jewish, half Gentile, and they are so little-known because their work was almost entirely destroyed by the Nazis.
On Monday, the show opened on Broadway at the very deliberately chosen time of 11.18pm—“18” is a traditionally celebratory Jewish number (corresponding to the Hebrew word “chai” meaning “life”). The show also has a ticketing policy, “18 at 18,” wherein the first 18 people at the box office when it opens for every performance can buy a ticket for $18.