Hirschfeld's Sondheim: A Poster Book, David Leopold's new book celebrating theatre caricaturist Al Hirschfeld's portraits of Stephen Sondheim shows, will be available September 9—but Playbill has a first look at what's inside, some of which has been largely unseen.
A self-described “characterist,” Hirschfeld's signature work, defined by a linear calligraphic style, appeared in major publications of the last nine decades, as well as numerous book and record covers, and 15 postage stamps. Among Hirschfeld's accolades are two Special Tony Awards and the Medal of Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts.
The first volume in a series of deluxe Hirschfeld poster books, Hirschfeld’s Sondheim, contains 25 posters of his art drawn from life before the opening night of each of Sondheim’s productions. Hirschfeld drew his first Sondheim show in 1957—West Side Story. Since then, Hirschfeld captured almost all of Sondheim’s Broadway shows—from Sweeney Todd to Sunday in the Park with George—and several films featuring the composer’s songs and scripts. Sondheim was a Hirschfeld collector, acquiring drawings directly from the artist and through his friends and collaborators like Hal Prince.
West Side Story (film adaptation)
George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, and Russ Tamblyn
Ink on board, 1961
Anyone Can Whistle
Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, and Harry Guardino
Ink on board, 1964
First published in the New York Times, March 29, 1964
The Last of Sheila
James Mason, Joan Hackett, James Coburn, Raquel Welch, Ian McShane, Dyan Cannon, and Richard Benjamin
Ink on board, 1973
Pacific Overtures
Isao Sato, Mako, Soon-Teck Oh, Conrad Yama, Freddy Mao, Yuki Shimoda, Sab Shimono, and (center) Haruki Fujimoto
Ink on board, 1976
First published in the New York Times, January 18, 1976
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Len Cariou
Ink on board, 1979
First published in the New York Times, April 20, 1979
Merrily We Roll Along
David Loud, Lonny Price, Jason Alexander, James Weissenbach, Sally Klein, Ann Morrison, and Terry Finn
Ink on board, 1981
George Gershwin, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Kern
Ink and watercolor on board
Passion
Marin Mazzie and Jere Shea
Ink on board. 1994
American Musical Theater Mural (Part 2)
Harold Prince, Leonard Bernstein, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse, Yip Harburg, George Abbott, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, Michael Bennett, and Frank Loesser
Ink on board, 1999
Stephen Sondheim
Ink on board, 1999
Unpublished
On the reverse side, Hirschfeld's Sondheim also features rare archival images, as well as an introduction by Bernadette Peters, an essay by Ben Brantley, and text by Leopold, Hirschfeld’s archivist and creative director of the nonprofit Al Hirschfeld Foundation.
Leopold is an author and curator based in New York City who has organized exhibitions for institutions worldwide including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others. His books on Hirschfeld include The Hirschfeld Century: A Portrait of the Artist and His Age (2015) and The American Theatre as Seen by Hirschfeld 1962–2002. Leopold also organized online Hirschfeld exhibitions during the pandemic, and co-hosts the Hirschfeld Century Podcast.
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Robert Westenberg and Kim Crosby in Into the Woods
