Jeff Harnar – I KNOW THINGS NOW: My Life in Sondheim’s Words
Birdland315 West 44th Street, New York 10036
Jeff Harnar returns to Birdland with I Know Things Now: My Life in Sondheim’s Words, an encore performance of his BroadwayWorld Award-winning Sondheim program. Harnar sings with music director and pianist Jon Weber, bassist Steve Doyle, and drummer Ray Marchica. Directed by Sondra Lee, the show is dedicated to her memory following her death in February 2026. Drawing from Follies, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Road Show, Dick Tracy, Passion, and Company, Harnar builds a personal portrait of an openly gay New Yorker, recasting many songs first introduced by women with the gender-bending fluidity central to his reading of Sondheim.
A New York cabaret fixture, Harnar is an award-winning cabaret, concert, and recording artist whose honors include BroadwayWorld, MAC, Bistro, and Noel Coward Foundation recognition. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall and in PBS-televised concerts including The 1959 Broadway Songbook and American Songbook: Stephen Sondheim with KT Sullivan. This Sondheim project received the composer’s personal endorsement and became a MAC Award-winning PS Classics album. Musical Theatre Review called it “a virtually sung-through masterpiece,” praising Harnar’s delivery of “every word” “as clear as a bell”; Theater Pizzazz called the show “magnificent.”
Birdland offers a refined jazz experience in a room where the audience sits at tables close to the stage, allowing every note to reach you clearly. The venue features a full menu with dishes like New Orleans-style gumbo alongside a well-stocked bar, making it easy to enjoy a meal or drinks while listening. Each show is ticketed per set, encouraging focused listening as the music unfolds in roughly 45-minute segments. The club’s walls echo decades of jazz history, having hosted legends and continuing to attract top contemporary artists. Located in Manhattan’s Theater District, the space balances a serious music environment with the energy of a night out, where attentive audiences savor the performances without distraction. Booking ahead is essential, as the club fills quickly for its celebrated lineup.