By Andrew Poretz***The name Ari in Hebrew means “lion.” After seeing this encore performance of Ari’s Arias, the definition ought to be “love”—for Ari Axelrod is love personified. Love radiates from his voice, his words and his presence. To borrow from the Passover song “Dayenu,” it would have been enough that Ari has an angelic voice. It would have been enough that he has rhythm, and soul, and can sear your heart in a single 
phrase. Yet there was so much more. Ari gave the proverbial 110 percent in a performance that was, thankfully, recorded and videotaped for a live album.
The show, in the Birdland Theater, was a mix of musical theater songs and pop, plus Broadway standards and newer musical theater songs, particularly a heavy dose of Stephen Sondheim compositions. Ari was accompanied solely by veteran Broadway music director Larry Yurman, an excellent arranger and pianist. The show was completely sold out. Ari’s Arias is the third Ari Axelrod show this reviewer has seen, and this one was close to flawless.
The perfect mood was created at the outset with a dreamy medley of “Never Never Land” from Peter Pan (Jule Styne, Bette Comden and Adolph Green) and “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley). Ari often uses what he described as his “head voice” for what some might mistake as falsetto. He creates a delicate, glorious tone that could be described as the sound a cloud might have if it could sing. (About the only other singer with this quality who comes to mind is the late Kenny Rankin.) Still, he can also sing in a full, powerful voice as needed, a tenor with a baritone bottom. It is an extraordinary voice.
Holding a candle in a jar, the lights down so that he was enveloped in darkness, the star sang “Once Upon Another Time” (Sara Bareilles) in perfect a capella. The interpretation and the raw emotion were so powerful that not even the sound of a blender at the bar could break the mood. It was one of the many moments in this show that required tissues.
The conga always finds its way into an Ari Axelrod show. His arrangement of “Cool” (Leonard 
Bernstein,Stephen Sondheim) from West Side Story showed off his rhythm skills, the drum standing in for the gang/dancers of San Juan Hill. His singing here never lost a beat while pleading to himself to “keep coolly cool, boy.”
Mr. Axelrod told the story of the famously self-loathing Lorenz Hart, who purportedly wrote the lyrics to “My Funny Valentine” while looking in a mirror. This was one of several standards that Ari made new with heart and soul, rather than vocal embellishment.
Ari stated, “What I wouldn’t give to breathe life into Tevye just once!” Now wearing a yarmulke, he performed one of the strongest renditions of “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock,Sheldon Harnick) this reviewer has seen. While he is too young to actually take on the part of Tevye, he has the skills, comic timing and even the acting chops to pull off this song like he owns it. (Another song in the set, sung partly in Yiddish, also proved he can make an audience cry in multiple languages.)
Ari’s life dramatically changed for the better when he underwent very complicated, successful brain surgery to correct a rare brain malformation that was slowly killing him. “In layman’s terms, my head was too big for my skull. Make your own joke.” The star considers all of this to be his greatest gift, in that it changed his entire perspective of life and love. This section included what he calls a “surgery medley” that sounded like special material, but was in fact a brilliant mashup of “The Cure” (Benjamin Scheuer, from The Lion), “Holding to the Ground” (William Finn, from Falsettos) and “How Glory Goes” (Adam Guettel, from Floyd Collins). He
talked about his dog, Leo, “the greatest dog in the world.” In a magical surprise, he brought Leo out and sweetly sang to him while Leo rested his paw on Ari’s surgery scar. Pass the tissues!
If some of this show was based on reality, and some simply based on song lyrics, Ari told the Birdland audience, “This is real. It is my heart and I offer it to you.” With that, he brought it home with “Being Alive” (Stephen Sondheim).
After an extended standing ovation, Ari’s encore was a stunning rendition of one of the most overdone songs in history, “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen,Yip Harburg), verse and all, earning another standing ovation.
Discussing the show’s title earlier in the program, Ari noted his own, non-dictionary definition for “aria:” “To me, an aria is any moment in life where words alone fail to express the full extent of what we’re feeling. So, in order to fully express those moments, we add music to them, elevate them and sing.” This leads us to answer the musical question in “Over the Rainbow:” “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why, can’t I?” Ari Axelrod can most definitely fly.
Ari’s Arias was self-drected, with Jeff Harnar as Creative Consultant.
