Bucks County Playhouse to Present HIRSCHFELD'S BROADWAY Featuring Backstage Stories & More This Month

Bucks County Playhouse will present "Hirschfeld's Broadway," a new multi-media presentation illustrating and celebrating some of the most loved moments in American theater as drawn by Al Hirschfeld. Hosted by the Al Hirschfeld Foundation's Creative Director, David Leopold, this world-premiere presentation will feature backstage stories of Hirschfeld's interactions with theater legends, nine decades of Hirschfeld's iconic artwork and searches for the hidden "Nina"s within. The one-night-only event takes place Wednesday, September 28 at 7:30 pm at Bucks County Playhouse. Tickets are $20.00. To purchase tickets, please visit BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or call 215-862-2121.

"Hirschfeld's Broadway" takes audiences from a rehearsal of On the Town, to the third row, on the aisle, of the opening of Hairspray. Leopold will reveal firsthand fascinating accounts of Hirschfeld's encounters with the biggest names in the business. Patrons will encounter some of the most influential productions of the last sixty years, such as Hello Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Cabaret, Annie, Sweeney Todd, Cats, Les Misérables, Fences, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, and Rent, through the eyes and pen of The Line King. Leopold will tell the remarkable stories of what Hirschfeld witnessed at Barbra Streisand's audition for her first Broadway show, to the vivid description of all of Broadway coming out for the dedication of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. He will also show and tell how NINA entered Hirschfeld's pictures, and how this fun game has been used in war and peace.

Following the show, The Al Hirschfeld Foundation and the Playhouse will offer a public gallery of Hirschfeld's artwork, with hand signed limited edition prints available for sale at Playhouse Deck, the venue's onsite restaurant and bar. Proceeds from the sale will be split between the two nonprofits.

Al Hirschfeld has been virtually synonymous with American Theatre since his first theatrical drawing was published in December 1926. For the next eight decades, he was an indispensable part of the theater experience in America. Hirschfeld's art is so iconic it has been called "the logo of the American Theatre." Hirschfeld's relationship to Bucks County Playhouse dates to 1939, when he was present to document the opening night at the New Hope venue. Hirschfeld's drawing of the event, appeared on the front page of the NY Times theater section on Sunday, July 9, 1939. Leopold will tell the tale of how that drawing almost cost Hirschfeld his career.

ABOUT David Leopold

Leopold has spent more than 30 years studying Hirschfeld's work, the first 13 as Hirschfeld's Archivist, visiting him in his studio once or twice a week. Now the Creative Director for the nonprofit Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Leopold's book, The Hirschfeld Century: A Portrait of the Artist and His Age (Knopf), has been called by The Washington Post, "An instant classic." Booklist declared, "Leopold emulates the economy and fluidity of Hirschfeld's drawings in this star-studded, anecdote-rich, critically clarifying, and thoroughly enlightening portrait of the portraits." He has earned rave reviews from audiences around the country for his illustrated presentations on the work of Hirschfeld.

ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE

Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, reclaiming its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of Company starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of 42nd Street and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse "one of the best regional theaters on the East coast." Box office records have been repeatedly broken by Signature Productions of Steel Magnolias directed by Marsha Mason, Mamma Mia! directed by John Tartaglia and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Million Dollar Quartet, 42nd Street, and Guys & Dolls (all directed by Hunter Foster). In 2021, the team developed and presented Candace Bushnell's Is There Still Sex in the City, which the Playhouse then partnered to move to New York. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.

ABOUT THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION

The mission of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation is to promote interest in the theater and visual arts by supporting non-profit museums, libraries, theaters and similar cultural institutions. The Foundation fulfills its mission through grants and exhibitions of Hirschfeld's art. The Foundation maintains an extensive collection of Hirschfeld artworks and lends and/or donates pieces to institutions all over the world. Another primary mission is arts education, which the Foundation does primarily with the Hirschfeld Arts Curriculum. Created in conjunction with the New York City Board of Education, The Hirschfeld Arts Curriculum is an innovative visual/performing arts education program based on Hirschfeld's art to engage students K through 12 in a variety of arts activities. Our programs encourage writing, reading, researching, observing, movement and performance to learn about the arts, its history, and the opportunities for education and employment in the arts field. The web based Al Hirschfeld curriculum is easy to use, and is intended to be a free resource for teachers and students. www.AlHirschfeldFoundation.org

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Al Hirschfeld's drawings stand as one of the most innovative efforts in establishing the visual language of modern art through caricature in the 20th century. A self-described "characterist," his signature work, defined by a linear calligraphic style, appeared in virtually every major publication of the last nine decades (including a 75-year relationship with The New York Times) as well as numerous book and record covers and 15 postage stamps. Hirschfeld said his contribution was to take the character, created by the playwright and portrayed by the actor, and reinvent it for the reader. Playwright Terrence McNally wrote: "No one 'writes' more accurately of the performing arts than Al Hirschfeld. He accomplishes on a blank page with his pen and ink in a few strokes what many of us need a lifetime of words to say."

In 1945, Hirschfeld celebrated the birth of his daughter Nina by placing her name in the background of a drawing. What the artist described as an innocent prank soon became a personal trademark and national obsession, as he began hiding numerous NINA's throughout his drawings for years to come.

He is represented in many public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery, and Harvard's Theater Collection. Hirschfeld authored several books including Manhattan Oases and Show Business is No Business in addition to 10 collections of his work. He was declared a Living Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Commission in 1996, and a Living Legend by The Library of Congress in 2000. Just before his death in January 2003, he learned he was to be awarded the Medal of Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts and inducted into the Academy of Arts and Letters. The winner of two Tony Awards, he was given the ultimate Broadway accolade on what would have been his 100th birthday in June 2003. The Martin Beck Theater was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theater.

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