Harmony
CLIENT
Situation Interactive
TECHNOLOGIES
WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, Gravity Forms, Google Tag Manager
YEAR
2023
EXTERNAL URL
Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman’s original musical about the Comedian Harmonists — 27 years in development before reaching Broadway. One of several original musicals in this portfolio alongside Suffs, Kimberly Akimbo, and Some Like It Hot, each with its own identity challenges distinct from revivals or adaptations with built-in name recognition.
Took point on all development at Situation Interactive.
Background
Twenty-seven years in development. One shot at a Broadway opening.
Harmony tells the true story of the Comedian Harmonists — six young men in 1920s Berlin who became international superstars before the Nazi regime tore them apart. Barry Manilow wrote the music, Bruce Sussman wrote the book and lyrics, and Warren Carlyle directed and choreographed. The show had been in development since the mid-1990s, passing through La Jolla Playhouse, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles before a celebrated Off-Broadway run at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in 2022 earned eight Outer Critics Circle nominations and three Drama Desk nominations. Original musicals without built-in IP carry a different kind of pressure than adaptations or revivals — there is no existing audience to activate, so the site has to establish the show’s identity from scratch.
I led development on the official site ahead of previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in October 2023.
Implementation
Established infrastructure with a frontend built around the production’s period-specific visual identity.
The ticketing calendar, tour system, and cast profile patterns were carried forward from prior builds — proven infrastructure deployed efficiently. Where this project diverged was in the frontend and in the content strategy for establishing an unknown show. The visual identity drew on 1920s Berlin — a dark palette with burgundy and gold accents, rich media sections featuring embedded performance clips, and review quotes from major publications positioned to build credibility for a title without built-in name recognition. Cast album integrations with Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music gave visitors another entry point beyond tickets.
The cast and creative section was especially important here. With Manilow, Sussman, and Tony-winning collaborators Warren Carlyle and Derek McLane involved, the creative pedigree was a major selling point — the bios and profile architecture needed to communicate that depth clearly. Google Tag Manager handled conversion tracking across the purchase funnel.
Every content section was built as a managed field group — the marketing team operated the site independently from day one.
Results
Live for opening night, still operating through the show’s next chapter.
The site launched ahead of the first preview on October 18, 2023 and supported the full Broadway run of 96 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre through closing night on February 4, 2024.
After the Broadway run closed, the site transitioned to support the show’s licensing phase — inquiries for professional, community, and educational productions, cast album promotion, and announcements for upcoming regional stagings. The platform that launched a Broadway opening continues to serve as the show’s official digital home, now powered by the same content architecture without any structural changes.
Like so many of these builds, the real test was what happened after the curtain came down — the platform outlasted the run and continues to serve the show’s next chapter.
