The Al Hirschfeld Foundation Announces National Events Celebrating HIRSCHFELD'S SONDHEIM

The Al Hirschfeld Foundation has announced a nationwide series of events celebrating the release of Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, a beautifully curated new poster book honoring one of the American theater’s most prolific and celebrated composer-lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, through the art of legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

In the coming weeks, the Foundation will host exhibitions, presentations, and talks across New York, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and beyond to mark the launch.

HIRSCHFELD: A LEGEND IN LINE

October 11–26, Wednesdays through Sundays, 1–5 p.m.
The Studio of Ben Solowey, 3551 Olde Bedminster Road, Ottsville, PA – Free Admission

A selection of Hirschfeld’s drawings and prints will be displayed alongside the works of contemporary artist Ben Solowey, whose theater portraits appeared alongside Hirschfeld’s in The New York Times and Herald Tribune in the 1930s. Solowey’s theater portraits and studio works will also be on view. solowey.com/exhibitions/hirschfeld-a-legend-in-line

HIRSCHFELD’S BROADWAY

October 29 at 7 p.m.
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT – $28

This Al Hirschfeld Studio event supports “The Kate” and takes audiences from the 1937 Federal Theatre Project’s The Cradle Will Rock to Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. The evening will feature iconic images and stories from eight decades of Hirschfeld’s work, with a special focus on drawings of Katharine Hepburn and her stage career. the-kate.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket

BACKSTAGE AND BACKLOTS WITH HIRSCHFELD

November 1–30, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. daily
Stuart Ng Books, 22301 S. Western Avenue, Suite 101, Torrance, CA – Free Admission

A new exhibition of Hirschfeld drawings reveals the inner workings of the performing arts, showcasing scenes backstage and on set—from Broadway to Hollywood—and offering a rare glimpse at the artist’s view behind the curtain. stuartngbooks.com

THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY

November 5 at 7 p.m.
Pasadena Art Center, Hillside Campus, 1700 Lida Street, Pasadena, CA – Free Admission

A multimedia presentation exploring the “Hirschfeld Century,” an 82-year era during which Al Hirschfeld captured and defined much of 20th-century popular culture. The presentation features rare and familiar images spanning Broadway, Hollywood, and the early years of television, as well as selections from Hirschfeld’s Sondheim.

HIRSCHFELD’S BROADWAY

November 7 at 7 p.m.
David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA – $25

Presented in support of The Shotgun Players, this event traces Hirschfeld’s work from his first theater drawing in 1926 to his last in 2002. The evening will feature images and stories of Landmark Productions, with a special focus on Sondheim’s work in honor of Shotgun Players’ upcoming production of Sunday in the Park with George. shotgunplayers.org

MEET David Leopold, AUTHOR OF HIRSCHFELD’S SONDHEIM

November 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Frenchtown Bookshop, 28 Bridge Street, Frenchtown, NJ – Free Admission

David Leopold, Creative Director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation and author of Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, will give an illustrated talk about the artist’s depictions of Sondheim and his works across stage and screen. frenchtownbookshop.com/events

EVENING CONVERSATION: HIRSCHFELD’S SONDHEIM

December 1 at 7 p.m.
The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY – Free with Reservation

Leopold will appear in conversation with Bill Goldstein, founding editor of The New York Times books website, followed by a mini-Sondheim concert featuring cabaret artists Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano. nacnyc.org

THE HIRSCHFELD CENTURY

December 4 at 7 p.m.
Temple Israel, 112 East 75th Street, New York, NY

This multimedia presentation revisits Hirschfeld’s vast career documenting Broadway, film, and music. Featuring rarely seen images and selections from Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, the event celebrates the artist’s unmatched role in shaping the visual legacy of American entertainment. tinyc.org

About Hirschfeld’s Sondheim

The first in a new series of deluxe, oversized poster books, Hirschfeld’s Sondheim is authored by David Leopold with an introduction by Bernadette Peters and a foreword by Ben Brantley, featuring over 50 drawings—25 of them full-page, ready-to-frame posters—depicting Sondheim and his musicals, including West Side Story, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, and Sunday in the Park with George. Published by Abrams ComicArts, the book is available at bookstores nationwide, with signed copies at AlHirschfeldFoundationShop.org.

“It’s hard to imagine twentieth-century Broadway without either Hirschfeld or Sondheim,” says Leopold. “Both men admired each other’s work, and both loved the theater. Hirschfeld drew his first Sondheim show in 1957 when Sondheim wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and continued capturing his productions and films for the rest of his career.”

Bernadette Peters writes in her introduction, “This keepsake treasure book is graced with 50 remarkable drawings spanning Steve’s most acclaimed works. Al, in a single image, captures a memorable emotion, indelibly etching our hearts and memories with Steve’s artistic contributions.”

Ben Brantley adds, “Hirschfeld’s images capture the essence of performances even better than photographs. Hirschfeld’s drawings and Sondheim’s works are inextricably linked in the minds of theater lovers everywhere.”

For updates and event details, visit AlHirschfeldFoundation.org.