Hirschfeld's Broadway: Songs and Stories - Hamptons Summer Songbook By the Sea at LTV Studios

HIRSCHFELD'S BROADWAY: Songs and Stories
featuring ERIC COMSTOCK and BARBARA FASANO
hosted by DAVID LEOPOLD, Creative Director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Saturday, July 26th 7:30pm. Al Hirschfeld has been synonymous with Broadway since his first theatre drawing appeared in 1926. For 76 years, his work was as much a part of a Broadway show as its opening night. David Leopold, creative director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, teams up with cabaret stars Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano (“cabaret caviar” – The New York Times / “expert musicianship and joie de vivre in equal measure” – The New Yorker) for a unique evening of songs and stories that highlight Hirschfeld’s contribution to the American Theatre.

See nine decades on Broadway including Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Hello Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Sweeney Todd, and Chicago through the eyes and the pen of “The Line King.” You will also learn how and why Hirschfeld began to hide his daughter’s name, NINA, is all his drawings, and the “national insanity” that ensued. Comstock and Fasano’s musical performance combined with Leopold’s stories will make the Golden Age of Broadway come alive with a hip, modern sensibility.

Hailed as “smart, funny, and utterly delightful” and "a hotbed of pleasure" by The New York Times, ERIC COMSTOCK (piano/voice) and BARBARA FASANO (voice) thrill audiences with their singular, soulful showmanship. Winners of 9 MAC Awards, 5 New York Bistro Awards, the New York Nightlife Award, and the Donald F. Smith Award, the glamorous married musical couple’s chemistry and electrifying combination of warmth, wit, swing, and sensuality have made them the nightclub world’s most celebrated team. From Birdland Jazz Club, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall to London’s Pizza Express to Italy’s Monteverdi Tuscany, their fast-paced and swinging concerts of pop and Jazz bring the American Songbook squarely into the 21st century. Their 2025 CD PAINTING THE TOWN (Human Child Records) has earned ecstatic reviews. Comstock and Fasano’s passion for an ever-expanding songbook – Cole Porter to Billy Strayhorn to Joni Mitchell – is irresistible, and their audiences feel they’ve been to a terrific party where the songs and stories are equally great.

DAVID LEOPOLD is an author and curator who has organized exhibitions for institutions around the country. Leopold visited Hirschfeld in his studio at least once a week for thirteen years while organizing the Hirschfeld Archive until the artist’s death in 2003. Leopold is now the Creative Director for the nonprofit Al Hirschfeld Foundation. His book, The Hirschfeld Century: A Portrait of the Artist and His Age, (Knopf) published to coincide with a major retrospective, has won universal acclaim. The Washington Post called it an “instant classic,” and Amazon selected it for its “Top Books” of the year.