A Conversation with Jeff Harnar & Alex Rybeck
August 31, 2018
As Jeff Harnar and Alex Rybeck prepare to return to NYC’s Laurie Beechman Theatre for a reprise of their 35th Anniversary Show, we sat down with these mainstays of cabaret to discuss their collaboration. You’ll see that they don’t take themselves too seriously. There is the seed of a vaudeville act here!
Cabaret Scenes: Congratulations on your 35th anniversary of working together! To what do you attribute your longevity?
Jeff Harnar: His talent, smarts, and funny bone combined with the basic ingredients of any good marriage: love and respect.
Alex Rybeck: Not dying (that’s very important). Encouragement. If you do something which receives encouragement (as signaled by attendance, good reviews, invitations to perform, awards), you want to keep doing it!
CS: How did your collaboration start?
JH: Kismet! Stephen Flaherty recommended Alex to me in 1983 for my cabaret debut and it was love at first chart.
AR: Jeff was seeking a pianist-arranger. As I understand it, he saw several people. Apparently he was overcome with emotion by my palatial apartment on Elizabeth Street. Plus, I could play in his keys.
CS: What is your process of picking material and finding the right arrangements?
JH: I start with lyrics that resonate and a point of view on the material. Alex makes that happen musically. Or, I’ll bring in a sketch for a medley and together we’ll shape and shine it. For much of our creative partnership we’ve had the gift of a great director as the third spoke of our wheel: Brian Lasser, Barry Kleinbort, and most often and most recently, Sara Louise Lazarus.
AR: Process of song picking: Early on, before Jeff “themed” his shows, we both contributed ideas and tried out quite a variety of styles and genres. We both like variety, and instinctively built shows that allowed us a lot of contrasts (show tunes, pop, originals, ballads, novelties). We didn’t “find” arrangements—we created our own. The teamwork of Karen Mason and Brian Lasser was very influential.
CS: How has each of you grown from working together for so long?
JH: Alex has made me a better artist in every possible way. I can’t imagine my musical identity coming into focus without his guidance and genius. He’s a master musical magician.
AR: How have I grown? Older, fatter, balder. Jeff stays the same, which is annoying. But that’s on the outside. Inside, we’re still the same crazy kids we were when we met in 1905.
CS: As partners spend more time working together, communication usually gets easier. Have you developed a shorthand?
JF: Y.
AR: Have we developed a short hand? I can’t speak for Jeff. My hands are the same size. One isn’t noticeably shorter than the other. I can still stretch over an octave with each. I’ve never been asked this before.
CS: What keeps your collaboration fresh?
JH: Life. There’s so much more to bring to the party the more we live it.
AR: I think we are still as excited about shaping songs and shows as we always were. We derive joy from the challenge of creating. That’s what keeps the collaboration fresh. Compromise is part of any artistic effort.
CS: How do you resolve any issues that may arise?
JH: I’m usually right 🙂 (Tip: Here’s where a good director is helpful)
AR: We have had and will continue to have disagreements about all sorts of things. I don’t think differences of opinion need be a negative. Some of our best work has come from friction. It takes pressure to make a diamond! But, I admit, sometimes we have wanted to murder each other. And that’s why I support strong gun laws. (See Question #1 re: longevity.)
CS: How has your long collaboration affected the way you work with others?
JH: Working with Alex has given me an invaluable and priceless tool kit that I reference whenever I perform, direct or coach.
AR: I have absolutely carried lessons learned via my working with Jeff into other collaborations. He is a great listener, proactive in initiating ideas, an enthusiastic researcher. The importance of “Let’s try it!” cannot be overstated.
CS: For this anniversary show, how did you decide what material to use?
JH: Ugly arguments late into the night right up till showtime. 🙂 Much like crafting any show, we looked for variety, an underlying arc, humor wherever we could find it and, at the same time, touching on as many of our different shows as we could in an hour.
AR: We thought back on all the shows and songs we’ve done over 35 years. And it was so exhausting we said, “Let’s just do the stuff we still remember!” BUT, in fact, we did dust off a few routines that we haven’t performed since Biblical times. And it was fun! Creating a coherent show out of such disparate parts was a challenge. But one of the rewards of working together for so long—and having a body of “tried-and-true” material—is that we kind of knew what would “work” in terms of how each song would function and resonate. It’s still always a bit of a surprise, because the audience is the final collaborator and you don’t hear from them until you are actually up there performing.
CS: Do you have any advice for those just starting out and looking for a musical partner?
JH: Choose someone who makes your heart sing onstage and off.
AR: Look for someone who energizes, inspires, enlivens, challenges. Someone who gives you MORE than you expected. As in all relationships, honesty and reliability lead to trust. Kindness, humor, and punctuality help a lot. Openness. (See “Let’s try it” above.)
For me, the singer-pianist relationship isn’t ever strictly “business”—it becomes very personal very quickly. It’s not that I look for a friendship, it’s simply a natural and almost inevitable result of people sharing something (music) that is so meaningful and personal. There’s an emotional responsibility that goes with this territory.
Alex & Jeff today.CS: What have you learned from each other?
JH: Not to answer questions like these … or take ourselves too seriously ever! “It’s only show tunes.”
AR: Jeff was the first singer who taught me about the importance of “career planning”—being strategic about bookings (choosing the best venue, the best day, the best time slot), publicity/promotion, being business minded. There are lots of talented artists who don’t pay enough attention to these aspects.
He also taught me not to give notes immediately following the bows.
Jeff Harnar & Alex Rybeck
The 35th Anniversary Show
September 21 at 7:00 pm
Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 W. 42nd St. at 9th Avenue, NYC
www.westbankcafe.com/laurie-beechman-theatre or
212.352.3101
Whenever I see Jeff Harnar perform, I feel like a Bobby-Soxer watching Frank Sinatra. (And, like Dorian Gray, Jeff gets younger every time). Now, I understand how much the great Alex Rybeck makes all of that happen. Fifteen years ago, I was 86-d from Manhattan, and exiled to the wilds of South Florida. That’s why I always look forward so much to seeing Jeff and Alex take their occasional flights of fancy down here to Deepest Dixie — through the good graces and splendid judgment of our own Jan McArt. I’m Still Here, Down Yonder, anxiously waiting for the next local sighting of Alex and Jeff.
I just submitted a Comment, but it didn’t get Posted.
Whenever I see Jeff Harnar perform, I feel like a Bobby-Soxer watching Frank Sinatra. I swoon. Now, I understand how much the great Alex Rybeck contributes to making that happen. Like Dorian Gray, Jeff gets younger every time. Years ago, I was 86’d from Manhattan and exiled to the wilds of South Florida. That’s why I always look forward to seeing Jeff and Alex take their “Occasional fFights of Fancy” Down Yonder to Deepest Dixie — thanks to the good judgment and excellent taste of our own “Sun Belt Treasure”, Jan McArt. I can hardly wait for the Next Local Sighting of Alex & Jeff. Chuck Prentiss “Broadway’s Ambassador To The World”