The Al Hirschfeld Foundation has announced a series of events, around the country, celebrating the release of the new poster book Hirschfeld’s Sondheim. The beautifully curated new poster book, celebrates the legacy of one of the American Theater’s most prolific and celebrated composer/lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, through the pen of the legendary artist Al Hirschfeld. In the coming weeks, the Foundation will host special events in New York, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and more, to celebrate the launch.
October 11 – 26, Wednesdays through Sundays 1PM – 5PM
Exhibition, “HIRSCHFELD: A LEGEND IN LINE”
at The Studio of Ben Solowey, 3551 Olde Bedminster Road, Ottsville, PA
Free
A selection of Hirschfeld drawings and prints at the studio of a contemporary whose theater portraits ran alongside Hirschfeld’s drawings in the New York Times and the Herald Tribune in the 1930s. Solowey’s theater work and easel work will also be on view in his handcrafted studio. www.solowey.com/exhibitions/hirschfeld-a-legend-in-line
October 29 at 7PM
Special presentation of “HIRSCHFELD’S BROADWAY”
at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
This Al Hirschfeld Studio event to support “The Kate” will take audiences from the opening night of the Federal Theatre Project’s The Cradle Will Rock to the opening of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. There will be images and stories of the most important productions from the last eighty years. For this night only, there will also be a special focus on Katharine Hepburn’s drawings, particularly from her stage career. https://www.thekate.org/event/hirschfelds-broadway/
November 1 - 30, 11AM – 6PM, daily
Exhibition, “BACKSTAGE AND BACKLOTS WITH HIRSCHFELD”
at Stuart Ng Books, 22301 S. Western Avenue (Suite 101), Torrance, CA 90501
Free
A new exhibition of Hirschfeld drawings that reveal the inner workings of the performing arts with scenes backstage on and off Broadway and on the sets of films all over the world. www.stuartngbooks.com
November 5
Multimedia presentation of the “HIRSCHFELD CENTURY”
at the Pasadena Art Center, Hillside Campus, 1111 S Arroyo Pkwy, Pasadena, CA 91103
Free Presentation runs on November 5 at 1PM
A multimedia tour of the Hirschfeld Century, an 82-year era in which Al Hirschfeld both recorded and defined so much of popular culture, especially through his drawings of productions on Broadway and in Hollywood. He was there at the birth of television and captured its first half-century. He recorded more popular music than any MP3, CD, LP, or wax cylinder ever did. His drawings of dance are among his most accomplished works. This illustrated talk will show rarely seen images as well as old favorites, and highlight images in Hirschfeld’s Sondheim.
November 7
Special presentation of “HIRSCHFELD’S BROADWAY”
at David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkley, CA 94704
Presentation ($25 per ticket) runs on November 7 at 7PM
This AHF event to support The Shotgun Players takes the audience from Hirschfeld’s first theater drawing in 1926 to his last one in 2002. There will be images and stories of the most important productions from the last eighty years. For this night there will be a special focus on Sondheim to celebrate the Shotgun Players new production of Sunday in the Park with George, opening November 15. https://shotgunplayers.org/show/hirsch/
November 11
MEET DAVID LEOPOLD, THE AUTHOR OF HIRSCHFELD’S SONDHEIM
at the Frenchtown Bookshop, 28 Bridge Street, Frenchtown, NJ 08825
Free Talk is on November 11 at 6:30PM
David Leopold, Creative Director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation and prolific author of books and articles on the creative arts will present an illustrated talk about the celebrated Broadway caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and his drawings of Stephen Sondheim and his musicals and films. www.frenchtownbookshop.com/events
December 1
Evening Conversation: HIRSCHFELD’S SONDHEIM
at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003
Free Discussion (with reservation) is on December 1 at 7PM
David Leopold in conversation with Bill Goldstein, the founding editor of the books website of The New York Times and book reviewer on NBC's "Weekend Today in New York,” about Hirschfeld’s Sondheim along with a mini-Sondheim concert with cabaret stalwarts, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano. www.nacnyc.org
December 4
Presentation of the “HIRSCHFELD CENTURY”
at Temple Israel, 112 East 75th Street, New York, NY 10021
Presentation is on December 4 at 7PM
A multimedia tour of the Hirschfeld Century, an 82-year era in which Al Hirschfeld both recorded and defined so much of popular culture, especially through his drawings of productions on Broadway and in Hollywood. He was there at the birth of television and captured its first half-century. He recorded more popular music than any MP3, CD, LP, or wax cylinder ever did. His drawings of dance are among his most accomplished works. This illustrated talk will show rarely seen images as well as old favorites, and highlight images in Hirschfeld’s Sondheim. www.tinyc.org
