Review: JEFF HARNAR SINGS SONDHEIM, The Pheasantry - Pizza Express Live

Off the back of a stint at New York’s Feinstein’s/54 Below and Feinstein’s @ Vitello’s last year, I Know Things Now: Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim navigates Harnar’s autobiography through the musical storytelling of the late icon of American musical theatre.

The immediate trepidation with any rendition of Sondheim’s work, of course, is that living up to the late titan of the contemporary musical theatre canon proves too great a feat, or, particularly in a cabaret, that an evening of storytelling might descend into an esoteric ‘pat-on-the-back’ for all familiar. Harnar steers clear of both of these pitfalls, however, with a disarming old-school charm that wins over his intimate audience at The Pheasantry.

In Harnar’s own words, it may be Sondheim’s lyrics and music, but this is his story. Sondheim’s boundless work is covered with agility and skill by musical director and accompanist Jon Weber, bouncing back and forth through a series of carefully crafted medleys that sketch the outline of Jeff Harnar’s own emotional experiences as an openly gay New Yorker. Sondra Lee’s direction keeps the evening flowing seamlessly, as Harnar transitions from one song to the next through a clever interplay between this patchwork narrative and all-too-familiar hits of the Sondheim canon.

Clever and entertaining to the initiated, one-liners and musical hooks form the basis of Harnar’s comedy from the top, as Harnar’s scene setting prologue on New York elicits an echo of West Side Story by Weber on keys. Among the show’s highlights are Follies ’Can That Boy Foxtrot!’ and Company’s ‘Being Alive’, where Harnar is most visible and authentic, and Sondheim’s mastery of musical storytelling is leveraged to Harnar’s own narrative. While on the most part the songs here are in service of shaping Harnar’s story, some adjustments could be made where this begins to drift, particularly when we arrive at Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. 

Ultimately, however, this is a cabaret which not only knows its audience but considers them family, and it is certainly clear that the feeling is mutual in the whispered echoes of this intimate setting. Both Harnar’s and Weber’s skill here lies not only in their impressive vocal and musical ability respectively; the ease and familiarity with which they invite their audience to share in what feels like a precious moment between old friends.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Kane Taylor

Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim also plays at The Pheasantry tonight (Sat 5 February), with tickets available here.