Review: JEFF HARNAR SINGS SONDHEIM: I KNOW THINGS NOW at 54 Below

I always know what to expect when seeing a Sondheim review - a quirky, rag-tag team-up of people patting themselves and their peers on the shoulder for getting through the rhythmic pitter-patter and haunting melodies with an air about them that says, "Aren't you impressed, audience?" When Jeff Harnar entered the room, I knew I was in for so much more. As he walked down the aisle making his way to the 54 Below stage, the audience clapped and smiled, excited to see their old friend. And Jeff returned that sentiment for the entirety of the show, building on and celebrating the inherent connection that brought us all here.

Sondheim's music takes his listeners through the ebbs and flows of his musical tides as he guides them through the motions with the performers and the stories they're telling. Jeff Harnar, with the direction of Sondra Lee and musical direction of Jon Weber, was able to capture that essence through the strategic and powerful medleys that melded some of Sondheim's greatest hits with his lesser known classics. As I read through the set list and each of these mismatched pairings, my gut thought was, 'How will they make this work?' But they did - and it worked beautifully.

He began the show with a jazzy, playful rendition of "I Know Things Now/More" from Into the Woods and Dick Tracy, respectively. The composition of this medley set the format for each one moving forward. Instead of one song that led into the next, the structure was more like fragments of each song flowing from the first into the second, then back again to the first, then again to the second. Each fragment - a line here, a verse there - was part of the puzzle he was creating, taking the sentiments and emotions of each song and making them into a new story - his story. Stitched together, they told of the ups and downs of navigating the emotional landscape that is coming into your own as one person in a city of millions.

Working his way through the infamous songbook, he connected each piece along a singular thread, teaching each of his audience members the songs we thought we knew - the opening notes inspiring that ping of familiarity, but finding ourselves in an unfamiliar territory by the last line. With pairings like, "The Little Things You Do Together/Marry Me a Little/I'm Calm/Getting Married Today", "Buddy's Blues/Sorry-Grateful", and "Opening Doors/Live Alone and Like It/You Could Drive A Person Crazy", each song followed the arc of its own story - a chapter in the life we were watching play out. Under Lee's insightful, skillful direction, Harnar brought us in to experience and reminisce on the joys, pains, anxieties, and pleasures that have brought him and us to who and where we are in the present.

Harnar, Weber and Lee certainly didn't forget who their audience were, giving nods and winks as a line here or some notes there would tie in additional Sondheim songs, including a particularly memorable "A Boy Like That" moment during "Can That Boy Foxtrot!", a cut song from Follies. These playful odes were a delightful tribute, showing their unbridled respect for Sondheim and the pleasure they took in celebrating him and his work. This admiration felt like a tying bond between Harnar and Weber as they often showed off their own camaraderie - two old friends who genuinely enjoyed each other's company and even more so, bringing you into that friendship.

Harnar's soothing, natural charm and charisma made the audience's connection to his story that much more integrated, treating the audience as if they were there from the beginning of his journey. Whether lifelong pals or meeting him for the first time, everyone left 54 Below last night with a new 'old friend' in Jeff Harnar.

Photo credit: Tom Salus

Visit the 54 Below WEBSITE for more shows to see.

Visit Jeff Harnar's WEBSITE.

To post a comment, you must register and login.