Jeff Harnar Celebrates Sondheim, Opens Up About His Life, Career On The Jim Masters Show
0JEFF HARNAR is an award-winning cabaret, concert and recording artist. His Carnegie Hall appearances include both the Cole Porter and Noël Coward Centennial Galas. On this episode of The Jim Masters Show series, Jeff opens up about his life, passions, career in an incredibly authentic and real way with award-winning personality and host Jim Masters and he shares the excitement about new music and concert events. \n\nJeff’s televised PBS concerts include “The 1959 Broadway Songbook” with music director Alex Rybeck, and “American Songbook: Stephen Sondheim” co-starring KT Sullivan, and Michael Feinstein’s “Live at NJPAC.” Jeff toured with Broadway’s Shauna Hicks in their Symphony Pops Concert “I Got Rhythm: Mickey & Judy’s Hollywood.” Jeff has won multiple MAC, Bistro and BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards and The Noël Coward Foundation Cabaret Award. \n\nJeff has released four solo albums, including Dancing in the Dark, also on PS Classics. He is also an award-winning director, having directed critically-acclaimed shows for Tovah Feldshuh, Rita Gardner, and many others. He teaches master classes and will return to the faculty of The St. Louis Cabaret Conference this summer. Harnar performs in the movie Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean from Iconoclast Films.\n\nJEFF HARNAR heard the story of his own life in the songs of the late Stephen Sondheim, the iconic composer and lyricist known for changing the landscape of musical theater. Harnar wove over 25 Sondheim songs — from familiar anthems like “Being Alive” and “Losing My Mind” to rarities like Dick Tracy’s “Live Alone and Like It” and “More” — into an original narrative, reimagining them for an LGBTQ+ audience and creating a self-portrait of a proudly gay New Yorker in the contemporary world. Weber, serving as conductor and orchestrator, recast the songs in a jazz idiom: a radical reinvention of Sondheim’s harmonies, one that the composer himself — upon seeing the show onstage — not only endorsed but encouraged. Now, PS Classics, Sondheim’s label of choice for his final two decades, offers another jewel in its Sondheim crown: a highly original and personal celebration of the artist’s work, by one of its foremost interpreters.\n\nHarnar will celebrate the album with a special concert engagement at The Laurie Beechman Theater in New York for three Wednesday performances on June 15, 22 and 29 at 7:00 PM. In addition to music director Jon Weber on piano, Harnar will be joined by Steve Doyle on bass and Ray Marchica on drums. Harnar will also perform this program at The Purple Room in Palm Springs, CA on June 17, and Crooner’s Supper Club in Minneapolis, MN on June 26, with other national tour dates to be announced.\n\n“The words and music are Sondheim’s … but the story is mine,” Harnar says. “This is virtually the only line in my own words when I perform the show. The evening is unique in that it is sung-through, with almost every word from my mouth a Sondheim lyric. And yet, the piece could not be more personal. In the words of Sondheim, ‘What more do I need?’ This is a unique experience for me, as it is my first solo show sung as an openly gay man, honestly sharing my story and my heart … with the correct pronouns. \n\n“My creative team on the project are a dream collaboration,” Harnar adds. “Our music director, orchestrator and conductor, Jon Weber, has brought a jazz vocabulary to the textures of these songs that is uniquely fresh.” The stage version of I Know Things Now is directed by the Broadway legend Sondra Lee, who originated the roles of Tiger Lily opposite Mary Martin’s Peter Pan and Minnie Faye opposite Carol Channing’s Dolly Levi. Harnar remembers: “Sondra has been a name on my lips since my childhood, when Mary Martin would fly into our living room in the first color broadcasts of Peter Pan. That she is now, at age 91, bringing her wisdom and guidance to my work is a miracle in my life.”\n\nHarnar has been honing this program with performances in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, New York and London. “Thus far Jon and I have been performing as a duo,” he comments. “For the album we have 2o players, all superb Broadway pit musicians, bringing to life the arrangements Jon and I created, and that he has orchestrated so imaginatively. This is my first solo album in 17 years, and the first that I’ve created from the beginning with the album’s producers, PS Classics’ Tommy Krasker and Bart Migal. It’s been a master class having their guidance. They worked closely with Mr. Sondheim on over a dozen of his cast albums — not to mention his two solo discs — so there simply couldn’t be better guides.”\n\nPlease subscribe to our YouTube channel, click the notification bell so you never miss any of our series episodes. If you enjoyed this video episode, please give it a thumbs up like and leave a comment for us! Thank you! Share this video too! \n\n#jeffharnarinterview #stephensondheim #sondheim #jimmasterstv #thejimmastersshow #alexrybeck