Photos: Jeff Harnar Celebrates The 1959 Broadway Songboook At Birdland

Sarah Louise Lazarus directed the show, with musical direction by Alex Rybeck.

By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 17, 2026

Birdland Jazz Club hosted the return of multiple BroadwayWorld Award-winning concert artist Jeff Harnar in his show The 1959 Broadway Songbook. See photos here!

This concert was a Special Encore following the sold-out performance the previous October. At Birdland, Harnar was joined by his longtime music director Alex Rybeck, in addition to Tom Hubbard on bass and Dan Gross on drums. The 1959 Broadway Songbook was directed by Sara Louise Lazarus.

The 1959 Broadway Songbook was a musical collage of the 21 musicals that were playing in New York in 1959. Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Fiorello!, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Flower Drum Song, Bells Are Ringing, and Once Upon a Mattress were among those featured in the show, which paid tribute to the Golden Age of Broadway. Songwriters represented included Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg, Leonard Bernstein, Comden & Green, and Lerner & Loewe. More than 40 songs were brought together, including “Tonight,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Til There Was You,” “The Party’s Over,” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” in a show that also paid homage to the very structure of a Broadway musical, including an “Overture,” “Entr’Acte,” and an “Intermission,” the latter featuring a humorous nod to pop and Hollywood music and current events of 1959.

Photo credit: Kevin Alvey

Jeff Harnar

Alex Rybeck, Jeff Harnar, Tom Hubbard, Dan Gross

Jeff Harnar, Alex Rybeck

Jeff Harnar

Jeff Harnar, Tom Hubbard

Jeff Harnar

Alex Rybeck

Jeff Harnar

Jeff Harnar, Alex Rybeck

Jeff Harnar

Jeff Harnar, Richard Skipper