Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Conversation begins at 9:15
Curator and archivist David Leopold (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-163-david-leopold) rejoins the show for a wide-ranging talk centered on the amazing new HIRSCHFELD'S SONDHEIM: A Poster Book (Abrams ComicArts, bookshop.org/a/4669/9781419784156). We talk about David's decades as Hirschfeld's archivist, Sondheim's love of Hirschfeld's work, the process of making his first book of Hirschfeld's art that focuses on a single creator, the connections between Al & Sondheim in David's text pieces for the book, and the joy of getting an intro from Bernadette Peters. We get into the work that the Hirschfeld Foundation (https://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org) does for regional theaters, why the drop-off of arts criticism is a disaster for culture, how younger people experience and appreciate Hirschfeld's art, and the time David held a seance at the Algonquin to promote the Hirschfeld Broadway Tarot (bookshop.org/a/4669/9780762486984). We also discuss our all-time fave Prince songs, what it's like being an archivist in a post-object world, the Steve Cohen (https://chambermagic.com) magic performance that blew his mind, his new exhibitions at the Studio of Ben Solowey (https://www.solowey.com), how the next generation of theater organists (!) is getting trained, how aware Sondheim and Hirschfeld were that they were making history in their lifetimes, and more. Follow David & the Al Hirschfeld Foundation on YouTube (youtube.com/@thealhirschfeldfoundation/videos), Tiktok (tiktok.com/@al.hirschfeld), Facebook (facebook.com/alhirschfeld), Instagram (instagram.com/alhirschfeld), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/davidnleopold.bsky.social) • More info chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-653-david-leopold • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe (buy.stripe.com/dR603B83MbhS4XS3ce), Patreon (patreon.com/vmspod), or Paypal (paypal.me/vmspod), and subscribe to our e-newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
Conversation begins at 9:15
Curator and archivist David Leopold (chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-163-david-leopold) rejoins the show for a wide-ranging talk centered on the amazing new HIRSCHFELD'S SONDHEIM: A Poster Book (Abrams ComicArts, bookshop.org/a/4669/9781419784156). We talk about David's decades as Hirschfeld's archivist, Sondheim's love of Hirschfeld's work, the process of making his first book of Hirschfeld's art that focuses on a single creator, the connections between Al & Sondheim in David's text pieces for the book, and the joy of getting an intro from Bernadette Peters. We get into the work that the Hirschfeld Foundation (https://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org) does for regional theaters, why the drop-off of arts criticism is a disaster for culture, how younger people experience and appreciate Hirschfeld's art, and the time David held a seance at the Algonquin to promote the Hirschfeld Broadway Tarot (bookshop.org/a/4669/9780762486984). We also discuss our all-time fave Prince songs, what it's like being an archivist in a post-object world, the Steve Cohen (https://chambermagic.com) magic performance that blew his mind, his new exhibitions at the Studio of Ben Solowey (https://www.solowey.com), how the next generation of theater organists (!) is getting trained, how aware Sondheim and Hirschfeld were that they were making history in their lifetimes, and more. Follow David & the Al Hirschfeld Foundation on YouTube (youtube.com/@thealhirschfeldfoundation/videos), Tiktok (tiktok.com/@al.hirschfeld), Facebook (facebook.com/alhirschfeld), Instagram (instagram.com/alhirschfeld), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/davidnleopold.bsky.social) • More info chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-653-david-leopold • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe (buy.stripe.com/dR603B83MbhS4XS3ce), Patreon (patreon.com/vmspod), or Paypal (paypal.me/vmspod), and subscribe to our e-newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
