Broadway legend Norm Lewis launched the 2026 season of Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea at LTV Studios in Wainscott, delivering an evening of music and celebration that set the bar high for the summer ahead.
Lewis, the Tony Award-nominated baritone whose credits include landmark productions of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera, performed in the intimate black-box venue that transforms each summer into one of the East End’s most distinctive performance spaces. Complete with state-of-the-art lighting, cafe-style seating, and a Baby Grand piano, LTV Studios offers an up-close experience rarely available with performers of Lewis’s caliber.
The evening extended beyond the music. Producers Donna Rubin and Josh Gladstone presented philanthropist Jean Shafiroff with the 2026 Frances Ann Dougherty Award for Broadcast Philanthropy, recognizing her “leadership, generosity and a lasting commitment to strengthening the community through the power of media.” The ceremony took place amid a summer reception featuring BottleHampton spirits and East Hampton Kitchen hors d’oeuvres.
Notable attendees included Joy Behar, Eleanor and Howard Morgan, and Alex Donner, reflecting the series’ ability to draw both entertainment industry figures and community supporters.
The 2026 season continues with a lineup that reads like a who’s who of cabaret and Broadway talent. Upcoming performers include Ann Hampton Callaway, Klea Blackhurst and Billy Stritch, David Alpern hosting Maria Abous and Eric Yves Garcia, KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler, and season finale performer Donna McKechnie, with the series running through August 29.
For music lovers on the East End, the Songbook series offers something increasingly rare: world-class vocal performances in a setting intimate enough to feel every note.
