Eric Yves Garcia And Maria Abous Go ‘Beyond Blue Moon’ At Hamptons Summer Songbook By The Sea
Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea, the live concert series bringing leading Broadway, cabaret and American Songbook performers to the East End, continues its third seas
Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea, the live concert series bringing leading Broadway, cabaret and American Songbook performers to the East End, continues its third season with Eric Yves Garcia and Maria Abous performing 'Beyond Blue Moon — And Before the Broken Hart' at LTV Studios in Wainscott on Saturday, July 25th, 2026, at 7:30pm.
Produced and hosted by David Alpern, the evening explores the wit, ache and sophistication of lyricist Lorenz 'Larry' Hart, whose partnership with composer Richard Rodgers produced more than 500 songs and helped define the sound of American popular music. The program takes inspiration from 'Blue Moon,' the 'tart, sad screen tale of a famous musical divorce and the broken Hart behind it,' while filling the musical space around the title song with Rodgers and Hart treasures.
Garcia and Abous will bring audiences into the world of Rodgers and Hart with beloved standards including 'Falling in Love with Love,' 'Isn't It Romantic?,' 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.' The night will also include one song by Oscar Hammerstein, plus lyric sheets for the audience to sing along — 'for better and verse.'
Garcia, one of New York's most popular and award-winning singer-pianists, brings a cabaret veteran's command of timing, style and musical storytelling to the evening. A recipient of the Margaret Whiting Award and a Bistro Award for singer-instrumentalist, he most recently won the Donald F. Smith Award from the Mabel Mercer Foundation during its annual Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center. His career has taken him from New York to London and Paris, from Chez Josephine and The Pierre Hotel to performances afloat for the Silversea cruise line.
Abous, a crossover soprano, has performed on iconic New York stages including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, The Triad and Birdland. Abous brings classical training, theater instinct and emotional warmth to a program built around romance, longing and lyrical sophistication.
The performance is produced and hosted by Alpern, a Sag Harbor resident whose career has moved across journalism, broadcasting and the performing arts. A former New York correspondent for United Press International and later a reporter, writer and senior editor at Newsweek, Alpern hosted 'Newsweek on Air' for more than 30 years, interviewing newsmakers, policy experts and top entertainers including Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Graham, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Walter Cronkite, Robert Caro, John le Carré, Nora Ephron, Rosemary Clooney and Barbara Cook.
The July 25th performance continues the spirit of Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea, which pairs world-class performers with the intimacy of LTV Studios' black-box setting, café-style seating, superb acoustics and an up-close concert experience designed for storytelling, connection and sophisticated summer entertainment.
The 2026 season continues with 'A Swell-egant, Elegant Party,' hosted by Laurence Maslon and starring Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano, on August 1st; KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler joined by Stephanie Pope and Christine Pedi in a program co-sponsored by the Mabel Mercer Foundation on August 22nd; and a season finale with Tony Award-winning 'A Chorus Line' star Donna McKechnie on August 29th.
Photo Credit: Hamptons Summer Songbook By The Sea
About Hamptons Summer Songbook By The Sea
LTV Studios in East Hampton concert series brings world-class cabaret and Broadway talent to the East End. Produced by Donna Rubin and LTV's Creative Director Josh Gladstone, this unique musical experience transforms LTV's industrial-chic television studio into an intimate performance venue complete with state-of-the-art lighting, superb acoustics, café-style seating, modular staging, and a stunning Baby Grand piano. The Songbook series offers a front-row seat to legendary music, interpreted by today's finest performers in an up-close, unforgettable setting.
LTV is a tax-exempt 501c(3) organization and donations are deductible as defined by IRS regulations.
For more information, please visit www.ltveh.org
About Eric Yves Garcia
Eric Yves Garcia is one of the most popular and award-winning singer/pianists in NYC, also playing around the U.S., London, and Paris. Recipient of the Margaret Whiting Award and a Bistro Award for Singer-Instrumentalist, he most recently won the Donald F. Smith Award of the Mabel Mercer Foundation during its annual Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mentored by the famed French-American songstress Josephine Baker's adopted son, Jean-Claude, Eric was a longtime favorite at JC's theater district haunt, Chez Josephine, later enjoyed a two-year residency at the renowned Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue, and sings afloat for the Silver Seas Line. He also brings music to young children and elders with memory loss at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan and is a narrator/voice actor for Audible and other publishers.
For more information, please visit www.ericyvesgarcia.squarespace.com
About Maria Abous
Maria Abous, a 'cross-over soprano' whose voice 'begs for lush orchestration' (Rolling Stone UK), has performed on iconic NYC stages including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 54 Below, The Triad, and Birdland. Celebrated as 'the embodiment of a leading lady -- her presence charming, her interpretations sympathetic, and her vocals gorgeous' (Woman Around Town), Maria holds a B.A. in Music from Columbia University and a Master's in Voice Performance from the Longy School of Bard College. Her first album, Crescendo, re-imagines classic jazz and theater standards as love songs from mother to child. A mom of three herself, she is a passionate advocate for the support of new mothers. Her second CD, Merry Little Christmas, 'brings an ethereal twist to Christmas classics with the timeless allure of Grace Kelly, the vocal warmth of Frank Sinatra, and a heart all her own.' (Daily Front Row)
For more information, please visit www.mariaabous.com
About David Alpern
David Alpern of Sag Harbor comes to cabaret as the son of a 'girl singer' on the road around the U.S. and on the radio in New York circa 1939. Starting in 1963, Alpern was a New York correspondent for United Press International, then reporter, writer, and senior editor at Newsweek magazine, and for more than 30 years hosted Newsweek On Air, an hour-long, domestic and overseas radio broadcast (later independent and nonprofit as For Your Ears Only). It featured conversations with newsmakers, policy experts, and top entertainers, including Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Graham, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Walter Cronkite, Robert Caro, John le Carre, Nora Ephron, Rosemary Clooney, and Barbara Cook — some 10,000 interviews, most still posted at https://archive.org/details/foryourearsonly.
Photo Credit: Hamptons Summer Songbook By The Sea
