JEFF HARNAR to Reprise Critically Acclaimed 1991 Show THE 1959 BROADWAY SONGBOOK In New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits Series at Metropolitan Room, 8/13 at 7 pm

1959 was a very good year for Jeff Harnar. It was the year the future cabaret star was born, but he couldn't know then that 1959 would also provide him with the material for what would eventually become one of his greatest cabaret performances. In 1991, for his second major engagement as a cabaret artist, Harnar made his debut at the famed Oak Room at the Algonquin with a show called THE 1959 BROADWAY SONGBOOK, featuring tunes from 21 musicals (including West Side Story, Gypsy, Fiorello, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Li'l Abner, and Flower Drum Song), that either opened or were still running that year. Directed by Sara Louise Lazarus with musical direction from pianist Alex Rybeck, Harnar's show strung together iconic Broadway songs into an imaginary musical with commentaries on love, marriage and politics, complete with an overture, entr'acte, intermission, and curtain call. The show and Harnar's performance (which would be filmed for a PBS special in 1993) drew raves from the New York entertainment press:

"Harnar seems to have stepped out of a time machine . . . His powerful versions of ballads have a purity and sweetness that redeem their sentimentality." --Stephen Holden, New York Times

"An extraordinary show . . . Harnar has a rich, smooth voice and a beguiling young leading man manner . . . He handles the comic songs with theatrical flair and sings ballads with a sense of powerful emotion held in check . . . Accompanist-arranger Alex Rybeck is exceptional . . . --Howard Kissel, New York Daily News

"A sparkling new show . . . with Rybeck's brilliant arrangements . . . Harnar is the leading male vocalist in cabaret and the most significant new talent to emerge in the past year."
--Bob Harrington, New York Post

"No dearth of great things to savor in Harnar's trip down memory lane . . . He is one of the amazing discoveries of cabaret . . . -Rex Reed, New York Observer

Twenty-five years later, on August 13 at 7 pm, Jeff Harnar (again with Alex Rybeck at the piano) reprises this superb show for Producer Stephen Hanks' monthly hit Metropolitan Room series NEW YORK CABARET'S GREATEST HITS (Associate Producer, Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD). Tickets are $25 ($20 for MAC Members) plus a 2-drink minimum. Reservations can be made at http://metropolitanroom.com/event.cfm?id=220925 or calling 212.206.0440.

Jeff Harnar is a winner of four MAC Awards and three Bistro Awards. In 2016, he won a MAC Award with KT Sullivan for "Best Revue" for their Stephen Sondheim Tribute Show, Another Hundred People. In 2012, Harnar captured the Noel Coward Foundation Cabaret Award. He also has four solo recordings: "The 1959 Broadway Songbook," "Because of You: Fifties Gold," "Sammy Cahn All the Way" and "Dancing in The Dark" (PS Classics).

For more information, contact Stephen Hanks, Cabaret Life Productions, 718-753-1323 or stephenhanks41@gmail.com

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