The Brownville Concert Series announces the return of Brownville favorite Jeff Harnar in his critically acclaimed show “Because Of You: Fifties Gold.” The show taps into his parents’ record collection, highlighting songs from the Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Nat “King” Cole, Doris Day, and Johnnie Ray songbooks, among many others. He will have Alex Rybek on piano, Steve Doyle on Bass, and Dave Chael on Sax. The show will be in cabaret on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 15, at 2:00 p.m. Show sponsors are Jan Chism Wright, Frontier Bank, and Brownville Fine Arts Association in memory of Carie Allen.

Jeff Harnar has won multiple MAC, Bistro and BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards and The Noel Coward Foundation Cabaret Award. His Carnegie Hall appearances include both the Cole Porter and Noel Coward Centennial Galas.

Jeff’s televised PBS concerts include “The 1959 Broadway Songbook” with Music Director Alex Rybeck and “Remember: Songs of the Holidays” with KT Sullivan (both filmed at the Brownville Concert Hall), American Songbook: Stephen Sondheim” co-starring KT Sullivan, and Michael Feinstein’s “Live from NJPAC.” Jeff toured with Shauna Hicks in their Symphony Pops Concert “I Got Rhythm: Mickey & Judy’s Hollywood.” Jeff’s fifth solo album will be released worldwide by PS Classicson June 17, 2022. The album, “I Know Things Now (My Life in Sondheim’s Words),” features a 20-piece orchestra conducted by jazz virtuoso Jon Weber.

Jeff is also a BroadwayWorld, MAC and Bistro Award winning Director. He has directed critically acclaimed shows for Tovah Feldshuh, Rita Gardner, among many others. He will return to the faculty of The St. Louis Cabaret Conference this summer. “Because of You: Fifties Gold” marks Jeff’s ninth engagement at The Brownville Concert Series, and he returns this December for the annual holiday show co-starring KT and Stacy Sullivan and Todd Murray.

Alex Rybeck (Musical Director, arranger, pianist) has long been a “regular” at the Brownville Concert Series from its beginnings; his first appearance here was with Jeff Harnar and their acclaimed cabaret, “The 1959 Broadway Songbook” (filmed for PBS).

Rybeck is well-known for his work on Broadway (“Merrily We Roll Along,” “Grand Hotel,” “Damn Yankees”), on recordings, and in concert halls and cabarets. Among the countless singers he has arranged and played for are Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway, Faith Prince, Donna McKechnie, Marni Nixon, Roberta Peters, Eartha Kitt, Sutton Foster, Michael Feinstein, Lee Roy Reams, Todd Murray, and Karen Akers.

As a composer, his songs have been sung and recorded by such artists as Nicolas King, Sally Mayes, and the late Nancy LaMott. A graduate of Oberlin College and NYU, he was mentored by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, and Stephen Schwartz. He lives in New York City.

Short season passes are available for only $140, for shows June through December.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $16 for students. Purchase season passes online at www.brownvilleconcertseries.com, on Facebook or call 402-825-3331. In show biz, (and pandemics), dates are subject to change so please double check the website. The Nebraska Arts Council (www.nebraskaartscouncil.org), a state agency, supports this program through a matching grant funded by the Nebraska Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.