Jeff Harnar Brings THE 1959 BROADWAY SONGBOOK to Delray Beach Playhouse

Jeff Harnar will bring his show The 1959 Broadway Songbook t0 Delray Beach Playhouse in Delray Beach, FL for five shows from December 15-17. Shows are Monday at 2:00 PM and Tuesday and Wednesday at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. This engagement will celebrate the remastered version of the show's 1992 album of the same name, which was recently released in its streaming debut from the PS Classics label. Harnar will be joined by his longtime music director Alex Rybeck, in addition to Paul Shewchuck on bass and George Mazzeo on drums. The 1959 Broadway Songbook is directed by Sara Louise Lazarus. Tickets are available HERE.

The 1959 Broadway Songbook is 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 are among the shows in this tribute to an era some have called the twilight of The Golden Age of Broadway. Songwriters represented include Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg, Leonard Bernstein, Comden & Green, and Lerner & Loewe. Over 40 songs are woven together including “Tonight,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Till There Was You,” “The Party's Over,” and “Everything's Coming Up Roses” in a show that also pays 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.

Harnar first performed The 1959 Broadway Songbook as a one-man show for his 1991 debut at The Algonquin Hotel's fabled Oak Room. In addition to the live album, the show was televised on PBS, presented Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters, and as part of the 92nd Street Y's acclaimed “Lyrics & Lyricists” series, in addition to touring nationally with major engagements in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palm Beach, and London.  

“The 1959 Broadway Songbook holds a special place in my heart as it was my debut engagement at the Oak Room in 1991 and my debut album, recorded live there in 1992,” comments Harnar. “With the release of this album on streaming platforms, all of my albums will be available digitally. 1959 was a magical year in New York theater and 1991 was magical year for the abundance of artists who attended our show, including Dolores Gray, Sheldon Harnick, Al Hirschfeld, Sally Ann Howes, Julie Wilson, Burton Lane, Joan Rivers, Phyllis McGuire, and Celeste Holm. I'm especially delighted that now, decades later, we can recreate that excitement onstage and know that our 1959 Broadway Songbook album will be available for Broadway music aficionados after we take our final bows.” 

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 by PS Classics in 2023. 

Miami Metro Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. SWEENEY TODD (Inside Out theatre company)

11.2% of votes

2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Lake Worth Playhouse)

9% of votes

3. WEST SIDE STORY (Delray Beach Playhouse)

7.8% of votes

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