Julie Benko, Sierra Boggess join 'Harmony' Broadway cast

Boggess reprises her Off-Broadway role, and Benko is known for her breakout role as the alternate Fanny Brice in the current Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

Sierra Boggess and Julie Benko will join the cast of Harmony on Broadway, the new Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman musical coming to the Barrymore Theatre this fall. Performances begin October 18 ahead of a November 13 opening.

Benko is known for her breakout role as the alternate Fanny Brice in the current Broadway revival of Funny Girl, playing the role once a week in place of Lea Michele. Her performance earned her the 2023 Theatre World Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre.

Boggess is known for originating the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway and playing Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera around the world. She most recently starred in a revival of The Secret Garden in Los Angeles.

Benko will play Ruth in Harmony, and Boggess will play Mary, joining a cast that also includes the previously announced Chip Zien as Rabbi, Sean Bell as Bobby, Danny Kornfeld as Young Rabbi, Zal Owen as Harry, Eric Peters as Erich, Blake Roman as Chopin, and Steven Telsey as Lesh. All but Benko reprise their roles from the musical's 2022 Off-Broadway premiere.

Harmony tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a German Jewish choral group who reached their heyday in the 1920s and 30s, but were soon rocked by the rise of the Nazi regime. Manilow composed original songs for the musical, which also features a book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman and direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle.

New York Theatre Guide's four-star review of Harmony off Broadway reads, "Harmony hits all the right notes."

Photo credit: Julie Benko and Sierra Boggess. (Photos courtesy of production)

This article was last updated on June 15, 2023.