Al Hirschfeld Exhibition Extended Through Late June at The Museum of Broadway

The Museum of Broadway's inaugural special exhibit, The American Theatre As Seen by Hirschfeld, has been extended by popular demand and will run through June 21, 2023, Al Hirschfeld's 120th birthday. Created exclusively for the Museum of Broadway, this unique special exhibit takes visitors through nine decades of Hirschfeld's iconic images of theater in this country through twenty-five drawings and prints from 1928 to 2002. The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld is curated by David Leopold, Creative Director of The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, and originally opened in November of 2022.

Concurrently with the final seven weeks of the exhibit, the Museum of Broadway will host a series of free public programming created in conjunction with The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, including:

Tuesday, May 9 at 1PM

A National Insanity: Searching for NINA

To reserve your space at this free event, click here.

Al Hirschfeld caused "a national insanity" when he began to hide his daughter's name, NINA, in the designs of his drawings when she was born in 1945. Sunday mornings looking for NINAs was a custom shared by millions of New York Times readers, a game played with children and grandchildren, and an unspoken initiation into the world of show business. Join Creative Director of The Al Hirschfeld Foundation David Leopold as he takes you NINA hunting through history, from the very first drawing to the one with the most NINAs (probably not the one you are thinking of!).

Tuesday, May 23 at 5PM

Scenes From The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld

To reserve your space at this free event, click here.

Al Hirschfeld has been synonymous with Broadway since his first theatre drawing appeared in 1926. Join Creative Director of The Al Hirschfeld Foundation David Leopold as he gives you a front row seat for shows from nine decades on Broadway and introduces you to some of Broadway's most important shows and the industry's greatest creators as seen through the eyes and pen of "the Line King." Attendees will also get to 'go backstage' with Leopold and hear some of the stories behind the lines in Hirschfeld's drawings. This illustrated talk will showcase rarely seen images as well as old favorites. Copies of the new book, The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld 1962-2002, will be on sale, and Leopold will be available to sign them for attendees.

Thursday, June 8 at 5PM

Hirschfeld on The Tony Awards

To reserve your space at this free event, click here.

Nobody went to more Tony Awards than the artist Al Hirschfeld. Not only did he draw nearly every Tony Award winning production from 1947 - 2002, but he was intimately involved with The Tonys as a Tony nominator, a Tony voter and a two-time Tony Honor recipient. In 1984, not only did he receive a Tony honor, but his artwork was the central theme for the scenic design of the televised awards presentation. Leading up to this year's this year's awards ceremony, The Al Hirschfeld Foundation's David Leopold will host this special event celebrating Hirschfeld's reflections and contributions to The Tonys.

Additionally, a private cocktail party will be hosted in the exhibit space in celebration of Hirschfeld's 120th birthday on June 21.

The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld exhibit can currently be viewed at the Museum of Broadway, and entry is included with the purchase of any museum ticket. Tickets for The Museum of Broadway can be purchased at www.themuseumofbroadway.com/tickets. These timed tickets start at $34, and a portion of every ticket sold will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Student and senior rates are available, as well as special $25 timed tickets on the first Tuesday of every month. Group and special event pricing is available upon request.

MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF BROADWAY:

The Museum of Broadway, located in the heart of Times Square at 145 W. 45th St, opened to the public on November 15, 2022, and is the first-ever permanent museum dedicated to the storied history and legendary artistry of Broadway musicals, plays, and theatres. The highly-anticipated and acclaimed Museum is founded by entrepreneur and two-time Tony Award-winning producer, Julie Boardman, and founder of award-winning experiential agency Rubik Marketing, Diane Nicoletti. The Museum of Broadway is an immersive and interactive theatrical experience devoted to musicals, plays, and the people who create them. Featuring the work of dozens of designers, artists, and theatre historians, this one-of-a-kind Museum takes visitors on a journey along the timeline of Broadway, from its birth to present day, where the past, present, and future of Broadway come together like never before!

The Museum of Broadway also celebrates the behind-the-scenes of this dazzling American art form with "The Making of a Broadway Show" exhibit, designed by David Rockwell and presented by Broadway.com, which honors the community of brilliantly talented professionals - both onstage and off - who bring Broadway plays and musicals to life every night.

MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBITION, THE AMERICAN THEATRE AS SEEN BY HIRSCHFELD:

Hirschfeld created more posters for shows than any other artist, which are featured on two dedicated walls in the exhibition, alongside a number of iconic album covers and programs. Hirschfeld's iconic barber chair, where he drew all the finished drawings in his career, is also on display. Visitors can be brought face to face with the original productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Phantom of the Opera, The King and I, Sunday in the Park with George, Funny Girl, Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, and Hairspray; as well as portraits of Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, Stephen Sondheim, Liza Minnelli and John Leguizamo, many of them signed by their subjects.

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK, THE AMERICAN THEARE AS SEEN BY HIRSCHFELD:

Released in conjunction with launch of the new exhibition, the new book The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld 1962-2002 showcases Hirschfeld's greatest theater work, nearly 300 drawings from f the last sixty years, including productions such as Hello Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Cabaret, Annie, Sweeney Todd, Les Misérables, Fences, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Rent, Angels in America, and Hairspray. and portraits including Stephen Sondheim, Neil Simon, Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, Tom Stoppard, and Hal Prince. In 1961, Hirschfeld himself designed and curated a first volume of The American Theatre As Seen by Hirschfeld with 250 works from the first 40 years of his career. It was Al Hirschfeld's favorite collection, as it was for fans, garnering rave reviews, printing several editions, and still highly prized by collectors today. Just before Hirschfeld died in 2003, he planned a sequel that would cover the other 40 years of his career, but the project was shelved with his passing ...until now. Edited by David Leopold, The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld 1962-2002 features a foreword by Michael Kimmelman, and chapter introductions by Brooks Atkinson, Brendan Gill, Maureen Dowd, Terrence McNally and Jules Feiffer. This is the largest collection of Hirschfeld's theatre work that has ever been published. The American Theatre as seen by Hirschfeld 1962-2002 is now available exclusively at The Museum of Broadway and online at www.AlHirschfeldFoundationShop.org/AmericanTheatre and www.Amazon.com .

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.

ABOUT THE David Leopold, CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION

AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION

David Leopold, the creative force behind both the new book and exhibition, 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 previous 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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.