The Al Hirschfeld Foundation hosted a star-studded cocktail reception on Monday, September 8, from 5-7 pm, at The Algonquin Hotel, to launch the release of the new book Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, celebrating the legacy of the Broadway icon through the pen of the legendary artist, and the new accompanying exhibition Strokes of Genius: Hirschfeld at The Algonquin, marking the first NYC gallery showing of Al Hirschfeld’s work in over a decade.
In attendance at the celebration were a number of performers who had appeared in shows by Sondheim and were drawn by Hirschfeld, introduced by The Al Hirschfeld Foundation’s Creative Director David Leopold, who presented some of the stars with prints of the drawings in which they were featured. Among the celebrity guests were actors Danny Burstein, Lonny Price, Jim Walton, Veanne Cox, Len Cariou, John Leguizamo, Charles Busch, and Jackie Hoffman, and David Staller, Founding Artistic Director of NYC’s Gingold Theatrical Group, whose upcoming Off-Broadway revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, beginning previews on October 22, at Theatre Row, will include a set inspired by Hirschfeld’s drawings of the original Broadway production. Leopold also introduced the evening’s live entertainment, of two Sondheim songs beautifully performed by Barbara Fasano on lead vocals and Eric Comstock on piano, and encouraged everyone to listen to the playlist of Sondheim on Spotify while enjoying the images in the book.
Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, authored by Leopold, is the first volume in a series of deluxe oversized 11 x 14” Hirschfeld poster books, with 58 pages containing more than 50 Al Hirschfeld drawings of Sondheim and his musicals, plays, and films, including 25 full-page removable ready-to-frame posters, detailed descriptions of each image, an introduction by Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, and a foreword by former chief theater critic for The New York Times Ben Brantley. Published by Abrams ComicArts, the publication is now available at bookstores everywhere.
Along with the book, The Foundation collaborated with Helicline Fine Art and The Algonquin Hotel for Strokes of Genius: Hirschfeld at The Algonquin, a new exhibition in the hotel’s historic Oak Room. Showing September 9-20, daily from noon-7 pm, the exhibition features original drawings and hand-signed limited-edition prints, all available for purchase, from the worlds of the stage, screen, and concert hall. They include an original drawing of Do I Hear a Waltz?, lithographs of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Nathan Lane, Passion, Putting It Together, and a 1977 portrait of Sondheim signed by Hirschfeld, an etching of Gypsy with Ethel Merman, and giclées of Sunday in the Park with George signed by the cast (edition of 15), Julie Andrews in Putting it Together autographed by the star (edition of 15), and a 1999 signed portrait of Sondheim (one of only four in existence). In conjunction with the live exhibition at The Algonquin, Helicline Fine Art is presenting an online version of Hirschfeld: Strokes of Genius, running September 10-November 2, with more than five dozen original signed and numbered Hirschfeld drawings and lithographs for sale, depicting Broadway, Hollywood, TV, music, and comedy.
David Leopold, Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, (New York: Abrams ComicArts, September 2025), ISBN 978-1-4197-8415-6, paperback, 58 pages, $29.99, is available for purchase at bookstores everywhere and online.
Strokes of Genius: Hirschfeld at The Algonquin runs through Saturday, September 20, 2025, noon-7 pm, at The Oak Room, The Algonquin Hotel, 59 W 44th Street, NYC. Entry is free; all artwork is available for purchase. A companion exhibition can also be viewed online, September 10-November 2, 2025, on the Helicline Fine Art website.