BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH to Return for Encores with Jeff Harnar at Don't Tell Mama
Alex Rybeck returns as music director for songs the duo first performed decades ago at the venue.
Multiple award-winning artist Jeff Harnar will return to the New York club Don't Tell Mama with the show 'Blame It on My Youth' for two Special Encore performances on Wednesday evenings September 9th and 16th at 7:00 PM.
The critically acclaimed show played four performances last February to full houses and standing ovations. 'Artistic audacity shines. Treat yourself. THIS is excellence,' wrote Alix Cohen of Theater Life. 'Harnar stands as a beacon of professionalism and perfection,' added Stephen Mosher of Broadway World. 'It was spellbinding. Harnar is a master storyteller in word and song,' from Marilyn Lester of NiteLife Exchange.
Harnar is joined by longtime music director Alex Rybeck revisiting songs from the shows they performed at the venue in the 1980s, when they were forging their 43-year-long musical partnership. 'Blame It on My Youth,' which takes its name from the Oscar Levant song the duo first performed in that period, shines a spotlight on lyrics Harnar first sang in his 20s, and how his perspective on them has evolved over time. 'Blame It on My Youth' features songs by Irving Berlin, Kander & Ebb, Richard Rodgers, Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Aznavour, Paul Simon, Carole King, and Billy Joel. The musical arrangements are by Alex Rybeck and Brian Lasser, one of their pivotal early collaborators. The show's promotional photograph was taken by Michael Ian, the same photographer who shot their Don't Tell Mama poster that presently hangs on the wall of the storied venue. Sometimes, with the gifts of time, friendship and music, you can go home again.
Jeff Harnar will perform 'Blame It on My Youth' at Don't Tell Mama on Wednesdays September 9th and 19th at 7:00 PM. There is a $25 cover with a $25 minimum (must include two drinks) per person. Cash only. Don't Tell Mama is located at 343 West 46th Street, NYC 10036. .
Jeff Harnar is an award-winning cabaret, concert and recording artist. His Carnegie Hall appearances include both the Cole Porter and Noël Coward Centennial Galas. Jeff's televised PBS concerts include 'The 1959 Broadway Songbook' with music director Alex Rybeck and 'American Songbook: Stephen Sondheim' co-starring KT Sullivan. 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. In 2022, Jeff released his fifth solo album, the critically acclaimed I Know Things Now: My Life in Sondheim's Words with a twenty-piece orchestra conducted by Jon Weber (PS Classics). Also in 2022 Jeff was named the Chicago Cabaret Professionals National Honoree, was the recipient of the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Mabel Mercer Award, and the winner of three BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards: Best Vocalist, Show and Director. In 2023 the Manhattan Association of Cabarets honored Jeff as 'Celebrity Artist' and I Know Things Now won the Major Recording Award. He performs in the movie Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean from Iconoclast Films. His latest album, A Collective Cy: Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman, was released in 2023. Last year, the PS Classics label introduced the digital debut of Jeff's first solo album, The 1959 Broadway Songbook, which was recorded at The Algonquin Hotel's legendary Oak Room in 1992. www.jeffharnar.com
Alex Rybeck is an acclaimed music director, composer, arranger and pianist, best known for his work in concerts and cabarets, on recordings, and in the theater. One of his most recent recordings, To Steve, With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim, was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award. His Broadway credits include Merrily We Roll Along (directed by Hal Prince), Grand Hotel (directed by Tommy Tune), and others. Among the many artists he has worked with are such legends as George Abbott, Roberta Peters, Marni Nixon, Eartha Kitt, The McGuire Sisters, Julie Wilson, and Kitty Carlisle Hart. He has also enjoyed meaningful collaborations with Faith Prince, Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway, Jane Olivor, Melissa Errico, Karen Akers, Karen Mason, Sharon McNight, Jeff Harnar, Donna McKechnie, Jason Graae, Lee Roy Reams, Tovah Feldshuh, Rita Gardner, Roslyn Kind, Amanda McBroom, and Clint Holmes, among many others. Rybeck's original song 'What a Funny Boy He Is' was recorded by the late Nancy LaMott. He has received numerous awards and honors, including MAC, Bistro, Nightlife, Billboard, and BroadwayWorld, as music director and songwriter.
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