By Alden Roosevelt, age 12
I recently was viewing Harmony: A New Musical, a new show at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, and I was delighted! The set was wonderful, as they were able to make so many different locations out of only a few objects, like a piano, a large TV, and a table. The cast was great and each actor, and actress was perfectly suited for their role.
The songs and dances they performed were catchy and deeply moving, as a lot of these songs were depicting sorrow from the Holocaust. The story was based on true life. It was magnificent, and historically accurate. If you are a fan of 30’s and 40’s song and dance, or a World War II history buff, you will love this play, as I did. It is touching, deep, humorous and inspiring. I would caution parents about bringing children any younger than me to this show because of rough language and adult themes, but I’m old-fashioned.
It is about a man who wants to create a musical group and he makes his dream come true. Once together they tour the world. Then, they return to their home country, Germany. The War is beginning, and due to some of their band being Jewish, a shortage of money, and Nazi Germans, they have to split up and go their separate ways.
After the show was over and I was on my way home, many questions arose in my mind, one of which included, “are they still alive?” Answer: yes, the last singer is 85 and lives in California. Though he does not make any official music anymore, he occasionally sings at the local temple.
