From Copacabana to HARMONY: Learn About Bruce Sussman's Musical Journey

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's new original musical Harmony is currently in previews on Broadway and is officially set to open tonight, Monday, November 13. While some Broadway fans may be more familiar with Manilow's name, Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow have a long collaboration history filled with Grammy-winning gold records, songs for musicals, film, televison and more!

Learn more about Bruce Sussman's career below!

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Where did Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow meet? 

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman have been writing songs together for over 40 years! Sussman was raised on Long Island, and after graduating from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvaia, he returned to New York where he was accepted into the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. This is where Sussman and Manilow first met and began collaborating. 

How many songs have Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow written together? 

Sussman and Manilow have written over 200 songs together! Perhaps best known is the Grammy-winning hit 'Copacabana'. 'Copacabana' peaked at number 8 on Billboard's Top 40 chart in 1978, and reached the Top 10 in Belgium, Canada, France and the Netherlands. The track was certified Gold, and earned Barry Manilow his first and only Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Additional songs co-written by Sussman and Manilow, and sung by Manilow, include 'I Made It Through the Rain,' 'This is My Town,' and more. 

What has Bruce Sussman written for film and TV? 

In addition to being a hit song, Copacabana was the source material for a made-for-television film musical. Also with Barry Manilow, Sussman wrote the song scores for the animnatd films The Pebble and the Penguin, Thumbelina, and Disney's Oliver & Company!

Listen to Let Me Be Your Wings from 'Thumbelina' (sung by Gary Imhoff & Jodi Benson) below!

Listen to 'Perfect Isn't Easy' (sung by Bette Midler) from Oliver & Company below!

What has Bruce Sussman written for the stage? 

The song Copacabana also became the source material for a one-act casino show, and then a two-act stage musical for which Sussman co-authored the book and lyrics with Manilow and Jack Feldman. The stage show ran for two years at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End, and toured the UK and the US. 

Sussman co-authored the scores for Ted Tally's Coming Attractions, which was produced Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. Sussman also co-authored the score for Wendy Wasserstein’s musical Miami Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. 

Sussman's songs have been featured in stage revues including The Madwoman of Central Park West, Tuxedos for Hire, and Whoop-DeeDoo! Off-Broadway and in London. 

When did Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow begin working on Harmony? 

Harmony: A New Musical had developmental productions at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1997, the Alliance Theatre in 2013, and the Ahmanson Theatre in 2014. The musical had its New York debut at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in 2022, and is currently in previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway!

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