I mentioned in my recent review of Fiddler on the Roof at Centerpoint Legacy that it’s especially important to be sharing stories about the Jewish experience as antisemitism has never been more normalized in my lifetime than it currently is. This is one of the many reasons I am thrilled Hale Center Theatre is taking on the challenge of the regional premiere of Harmony on their Jewel Box stage. Fortunately they not only take on the challenge but they do a terrific job with it.

Hale actually isn’t just putting on the regional premiere of Harmony but are the first regional production in the world after its Broadway run in 2023. On the surface it has a lot to do with musicals like Forever Plaid and Jersey Boys– about a group of young men who become famous singing harmonies together. Both of those musicals are jukebox musicals and this is all original music written specifically for the show by Barry Manilow. It also doesn’t take long for the show to become much more than an old-fashioned bebop lovefest. It’s about the start of WW2 and how people can become manipulated and controlled.

In fact in some ways this musical reminded me of a more clean cut version of Cabaret. They are both after all about pre-WW2 Germany and the plights of creative people before the Nazi takeover. Harmony tells the true story of an ensemble of 6 men who created a group called the Comedian Harmonists. They travel around the world sharing their melodies and along the way some get married and see their homeland overtaken by fascism. This of course is an especially scary time for their 3 Jewish members and their wives.

Most of the show at Hale is single cast and Ric Starnes plays an older version of a character named Rabbi (full name Josef Roman Cycowski.) He works as our narrator for the piece as he is reminisces about his time in the group. He also plays a number of other characters who the young men come in contact with. He is warm and endearing in the role and we feel the regret he walks around with as the last surviving group member.

The rest of the cast of Harmony is outstanding with the men harmonizing beautifully together including Landon Horton, Brandon LaMar Buckner, Tanner Sumens, Anson Bagley, Jonathan Avila and Ben Hahn. There’s not a weak link in the cast with Bagley being the standout as Erich, the failed doctor who is better off as a singer. The two female leads with Rachel Marie Fonseca as Ruth and Teaira Burge as Mary are also outstanding with “Where You Go” being the vocal highlight of the evening. The rest of the songs aren’t super memorable but they are pleasant and work well to tell the story.

Director Dave Tinney uses some historical photos and reels of the time period to help with immersion as well as period accurate costumes by Dennis Wright. The Jewel Box stage unfortunately has sight problems if you are seated on the edges which I was but at least I was able to catch most of what was happening on stage. Also there were times it became confusing where the group was as they are traveling around the world but nobody speaks with accents including all of the German characters. There were times when I had to be reminded by the characters that they are now in Germany again because it was unclear.

I particularly thought Act 2 of Harmony worked quite well. Act 1 is your standard forming the band character build up but Act 2 becomes more nuanced as little decisions have huge impact on the characters and even the world. There is also more creative freedom in Act 2 especially in a segment called “Come to the Fatherland!” where the boys mock how the Nazis see them as puppets. I loved the red lighting by Marianne Ohran in this scene as well as the red traditional German costumes. It was trippy and unexpected for this type of musical.

Musicals like this are especially effective because they entertain, instruct and inspire without making the audience feel like have witness an oppressive experience. It’s moving without being demoralizing. Harmony at Hale would be a great show to take kids to and have an important discussion about our choices and how fascism can develop in a seemingly loving country. It is certainly worthy of your time. It is playing through August 1st and tickets can be purchased here.

Harmony has music by Barry Manilow with lyrics and book by Bruce Sussman based on the true story of the Comedian Harmonists. It was first performed way back in 1997 at La Jolla Playhouse and then finally made it to Broadway in 2023. Hale is the first regional production since the shows Broadway transfer.

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