Ana Hoffman playing Josephine Baker in HARMONY

We are proud to announce, “Acting Lion,” Ana Hoffman is currently in rehearsals for the new musical, HARMONY being produced by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman opening April 14^th.  After working with Penny on her audition for the iconic role of Josephine Baker, Ana was cast without callback, directly from her self-tape submission.

Folksbiene Announces Full Cast and Creative Team

For HARMONY By Barry Manilow & Bruce Sussman

The show runs next month with previews beginning on March 23, 2022, and the production running from April 14-May 8, 2022.

BROADWAY WORLD – by Stephi Wild   Feb. 22, 2022

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) today announced the entire cast and creative team for Harmony: A New Musical, starring musical theatre icons Chip Zien (Into the Woods, Caroline, Or Change) and Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, The Phantom of the Opera). Harmony was written by the legendary Barry Manilow and his longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman. At the helm will be Tony Award-winner Warren Carlyle directing the New York debut of this captivating musical.

Harmony 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.

Playing the six Comedian Harmonists will be Sean Bell (National Tour: A Bronx Tale: The Musical), Danny Kornfeld (National Tour: Rent, Zal Owen (Broadway: The Band’s Visit), Eric Peters (National Tour: Motown: The Musical), Blake Roman (Regional: Newsies), and Steven Telsey (National Tour: The Book of Mormon). Jessie Davidson (Regional: The Mystery of Edwin Drood) plays Ruth, with Ana Hoffman (National Tour: Dreamgirls) set to portray Josephine Baker – a major celebrity whom the Harmonists encountered on their way to the top.

Joining the creative team are Beowulf Boritt, scenic designer; Linda Cho & Ricky Lurie, costume designers; Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, lighting designers; Dan Moses Schreier, sound designer; Batwin + Robin productions, inc., video design; Jamibeth Margolis, CSA, casting director; Sara Edwards, associate director/choreographer; Roy Gabay/Jumpstart Entertainment, and John O’Neill, music director and additional vocal and music arranger.

NYTF will present Harmony in English, with previews beginning on March 23, 2022, and the production running from April 14-May 8, 2022, in the newly renovated Edmond J. Safra Hall theatre at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, NYC. For tickets to Harmony, visit NYTF.org or call 855-449-4658. Contact 212-655-7653 for all other inquiries.

Directing and choreographing Harmony will be Tony Award winner and Emmy-nominated Warren Carlyle. Carlyle won a 2014 Tony Award for his choreography for After Midnight, for which he was also Tony Award-nominated as Best Director. Carlyle was again nominated for a 2019 Tony Award for his choreography for the critically acclaimed revival of Kiss Me Kate. He also choreographs the current Broadway revival of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

“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,” Warren Carlyle said.

*Edited from the original BROADWAY WORLD article by Hank Schob