Leonard Bernstein's daughter shares his music, story in Fort Myers

Jamie Bernstein knew her dad, Leonard Bernstein, was famous. She just didn’t know how famous.

Then, at about age 11, she heard his name on an episode of the cartoon “The Flintstones.” Or, rather, a parody version of his name: The story involved a concert at the “Hollyrock Bowl” conducted by the one and only “Leonard Bernstone.”

That’s when she knew.

“Boy,” Jamie Bernstein says, “that’s when we realized our dad had really hit the big time!”

Decades later, Jamie Bernstein knows just about everything there is to know about her late father, his career and his celebrated works such as “Candide” and the musical “West Side Story.”

She’ll talk about all that and more on Friday, Feb. 24, when she narrates the critically acclaimed “Late Night with Leonard Bernstein” at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers.

The multimedia cabaret concert features acclaimed soprano Amy Burton and pianists John Musto and Michael Boriskin performing the conductor/composer's most famous pieces and some of his favorite music, including classical works by Copland, Confrey, Coward, Schubert and Chopin.

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The show gets its title from Leonard Bernstein’s famous insomnia. He often stayed up until 4 or 5 a.m. writing music, and then he’d sleep until the following afternoon.

“He just didn’t sleep,” says Jamie Bernstein, 64, of New York City. “It’s amazing how much you can get done if you don’t sleep!

“He was the kind of person who had an engine that couldn’t be shut off. He was just going all the time and his mind was just clicking away.”

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Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990, would often play works in progress for Jamie Bernstein and her siblings — not his most famous pieces from the 1950s, such as “Candide” or “West Side Story" (the kids were too young), but later works such as “Mass” in 1971.

Jamie and her brother and sister would sit around the piano as their dad played his latest inspiration. Then he'd ask them what they thought.

She still cherishes those moments.

“What could be more special?” she says. “And it made us have a more emotional involvement in the piece.”

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Now Jamie Bernstein does what she can to keep her dad’s legacy alive and make sure people don’t forget about “Candide,” “Mass” and “West Side Story” (which director Steven Spielberg has announced plans to remake).

Younger people don’t know Bernstein as well as their parents and grandparents do, she says. So she hopes her traveling show inspires a few people to dig deeper and give his work a listen.

Still, she says, it’s inspiring that so many fans turn out every night to see “Late Night with Leonard Bernstein.” It shows that he won’t likely be forgotten anytime soon.

“I love sharing stories about my dad,” she says. “And I love that people still remember him and his contributions.”

Connect with this reporter:Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook),@charlesrunnells (Twitter),@crunnells1 (Instagram)

If you go

What: “Late Night with Leonard Bernstein”

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 (cocktails at 7 p.m.)

Where: Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, 2301 First St., downtown Fort Myers

Tickets: $29-$35

Info: 333-1933 or sbdac.com