JULIE BENKO

Current Star of RAGTIME: The Hottest Ticket on Broadway this Spring!

Premiering her new show: Euphonic Gumbo
How did a nice Jewish girl from Connecticut end up steeped in the sounds of New Orleans? Simple: I visited... and fell madly in love. The music, the spirit, the ghosts, and the joy all pulled me deeper down the rabbit hole.

Euphonic Gumbo is my love letter to the Crescent City. We stirred in a little of everything: the syncopated strut of early jazz, the spice of a Cajun fiddle, the echo of folk ballads, Jelly Roll Morton’s “Spanish tinge,” and, of course, nods to the great piano “professors” famous for making the ivories dance. It’s music that honors both life and death, mischief and memory, Disney dreams and Longfellow laments.

Back by Popular Demand!
Get ready to laissez les bons temps rouler as Broadway and cabaret star Julie Benko (Funny Girl, Harmony, Ragtime) makes her triumphant return to Feinstein’s at the Nikko after last year’s sold-out engagement! Joined by her jazz-pianist husband Jason Yeager, Benko brings her signature sparkle and soaring vocals to a joyful celebration of their new album, Euphonic Gumbo. This spirited love letter to New Orleans features jazz classics (“Pretty Baby,” “Basin Street Blues”), haunting folks ballads (“The Lakes of Pontchartrain”), Disney favorites (“Ma Belle Evangeline”), and more. After selling out her annual Mardi Gras concert at Birdland in NYC four years running, Benko is taking the show on the road—and San Francisco gets her first. Come join the parade—nobody, no nobody, is gonna rain on this one! 
 
BIO
 
Julie Benko joined the annals of theatrical lore for her sensational understudy-to-star trajectory as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Between her tenure as the standby, alternate, and full-time Fanny, she played the role over 180 times and received numerous accolades for her interpretation, including Theatre World’s Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theatre. She was also named the 2022 “Breakout Star for Theater” by The New York Times and one of “10 Broadway Stars to Watch for 2023” by Variety, honored as one of “40 Under 40” for Crain’s New York Business, hailed by CBS Mornings as “Broadway’s breakout star,” and profiled in numerous national media outlets such as The New York Times and Time. Following Funny Girl, she returned to Broadway to originate the role of Ruth in Barry Manilow’s long-gestating musical Harmony.  Visit her website, www.JulieBenko.com, or follow her on TikTok or Instagram @Jujujuliebee to discover more!