TheatreWorks USA Co-Founder Jay Harnick Dies at 78

Jay Harnick, the co-founder and former artistic director of children’s theater company TheatreWorks USA and the brother of Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick, died on February 27 at the age of 78 after a long illness.

Harnick was born and raised in the Chicago area and graduated from the University of Illnois. After moving to New York City, he began his theatrical career as a performer in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. His other performing credits include Alive and Kicking, John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, and Phoenix ’55.

During his long theatrical career, Harnick also worked on a variety of other projects, including directing productions of his brother’s musicals, Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello!, as well as the New York City Opera production of Abduction from the Seraglio.

In 1961, Harnick and Charles Hull founded TheatreWorks USA, which has produced nearly 100 shows over the past 45 years. He resigned as the company’s artistic director in 2000, but continued to sit on the theater’s Board of Directors. In 2000, the Actors’ Fund of America gave Harnick and Hull its Medal of Honor.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, actress Barbara Barrie, and their children Aaron and Jane.