Einhorn has long been a fan of Herman’s work. So it’s no surprise that early last year, shortly after the composer’s death, he presented You I Like at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

The Pasadena Playhouse, putting together plans for PlayhouseLive (their original programming platform during the pandemic), reached out to Einhorn to see about filming a revised version of that show.

You I Like – A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman reflects the absolutely enthusiasm that Herman put into such shows as Mame, La Cage aux Folles and, of course, Hello, Dolly! Einhorn brings his own passion for this material as both music director, accompanist, writer and on-camera host for the show.

As the Capitol in Washington, D.C. was being overrun on January 6th, I spoke by phone with Einhorn about You I Like, Herman’s many musicals and why his songs resonate today with him personally and audiences around the world. What follows has been edited for length and clarity.

In May of 2017 you posted on your Facebook page part of an interview Bette Midler gave CBS This Morning in which she said, “Never look back…if you’re looking back you can’t look forward, you can’t go forward.” You commented, “She’s the wisest.” How does that advice apply to your approach to You I Like?

As we began this phone call we are in a moment where we have to look forward. What’s happening in the world is the perfect reason why Jerry Herman’s music needs to be heard. There are messages of optimism, joy and life. People in this world are hurting and are looking for a salve to emerge from this moment and find a way forward. Jerry was the master of commanding us to listen.

When I think of my whole journey on Hello, Dolly! – which was interesting and exciting and all things in between – a lot of what I learned about life came from working with Jerry Zaks and Bette and their messages of pushing forward to not relying on what we know; using it as a foundation to be ourselves to build upon to go forward.

There have been multiple revues of Herman’s work before and you did a previous version of this show last year. What was your goal in making this version of You I Like different from others that came before it?

What I’ve tried to do is pinpoint why Jerry Herman is special. I think it’s all there in the music and lyrics. The lemonade moment in the pandemic was getting a second chance to re-evaluate this piece and adapt a two-act musical revue into a 90-minute program that takes you on the same journey. I’m hoping through this people will know and love Jerry Herman where his shows were bigger than he was. This is celebrating the man.

What are your thoughts on Mack and Mabel and Mame? The former has been revised multiple times to make the book work without ever truly succeeding. The latter expresses reverence for Southern traditions that would not be considered acceptable today. Can Mack and Mabel ever work and can Mame ever be revived?

My answer is yes. Part of our job as artists it to present material. I’m not always sure re-writing pieces is in our favor. We don’t have the authors with us now. We only have their perspective. Part of our job in presenting Showboat or Mame, we cannot deny how it was written or set. We have to be careful and we have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis that feels informed and educated. There was no part of Jerry that was racist. He was adapting a piece and it was a strong piece to adapt.

You’ve had a lengthy professional relationship with Audra McDonald as her music director/accompanist. She’s recently added Before the Parade Passes By from Hello, Dolly! to her repertoire. Did you have something to do with that?

Of course! (He laughs). I was the one who brought it up to her. Audra is an artist who can make you hear a song and make you really listen to it. I said, “this is a landmine song for you.” Audra is 50 and she’s had an amazing career up to this point. As we always do, you look at what’s on the horizon and where do we want to go. That song spoke to her about having a second chance and she found a lot she can relate to. I’m excited we’re doing the song now and I think it’s tremendous. At the end of the day she’s the magic that makes it work. I just have the spark of the idea.

One of Jerry’s lesser known musicals was The Grand Tour. In the song I’ll Be Here Tomorrow he wrote, “If before the dawn this fragile world might crack, someone’s got to try to put the pieces back.” As we speak the world is cracking. How do Jerry Herman’s songs give you personally the confidence that we’ll all be here tomorrow?

I don’t need to say it, you said his words. I get very emotional about it. For some reason this material really speaks to me. My partner said it best, “society always find a way out and is better.” We have to endure all of this, but we are going to get out of this.

The reason we speak in music and words is because everybody can understand them. They don’t always agree, but they hear it. I know his work exemplifies that. That lyric made me cry. It’s an enormous catharsis. Maybe it’s my own therapy session, but I’m going to own it. I think it’s important to hear it. There’s a healing quality that people need right now. It speaks to exactly what we need to hear.

You I Like is available to rent through PlayhouseLive through February 7th.

Photo: Lesli Margherita, Andrea Ross, Ryan Vona, Nicholas Christopher, Ashley Blanchet, and Andy Einhorn in You I Like: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman (Photo by Jeff Lorch/Courtesy Playhouse Live)

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Jerry Herman was the Tony Award-winning composer of such musicals as Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Mack and Mabel and La Cage aux Folles. He passed away in late 2019. This revue of his music was created by Andy Einhorn and had its first performance at New York’s 92nd Street Y early last year. Einhorn has reworked the show and it was filmed by Pasadena Playhouse for their PlayhouseLive programming.

Starring in You I Like are Ashley Blanchet (Frozen), Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton), Olivier Award-winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda The Musical), Andrea Ross (The Sound of Music) and Ryan Vona (Once). Einhorn serves as music director and our guide through the show.

Songs from all those musicals listed above are in the show as are some rarer songs from his early work like Parade and Milk and Honey. There are also songs from his lesser-known musicals such as The Grand Tour.

Einhorn has created a true love letter to Herman. His passion and knowledge of Herman and his work is presented lovingly. This show is filled with the unfettered joy that was the hallmark of Herman’s own view of life.

The performers are all terrific and seem to be enjoying their roles.

A few moments definitely stand out: Christopher singing “If He Walked Into My Life” from Mame and “A Little More Mascara” from La Cage Aux Folles; “Time Heals Everything” from Mack and Mabel sung by Blanchet and pretty much everything Margherita does. Someone should seriously consider putting her in a revival of Funny Girl. (I know what purists will say, “she’s a bit too old for that.” Forget it…she’s got the talent to make it work.)

My initial response after seeing the show on Sunday (as I Tweeted) was “The best of times may not be right now, but You I Like is just what the doctor ordered.”

Tickets to watch You I Like are $24.99. If you think the show was only available on Sunday, January 10th, that was just a special opening night event featuring pre-show interviews with Bernadette Peters and David Hyde Pierce. Don’t delay. Any serious musical theatre fan will want to catch this show!

Photo: Jerry Herman (Courtesy PlayhouseLive)

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