Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea Returns to New York for Its 3rd Annual Friendraiser

• Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea held its 3rd Annual NYC Friendraiser at The Triad Theatre, benefiting LTV Studios.

• Barbara Fasano, KT Sullivan, Mark Nadler, Stephanie Pope, and Eric Yves Garcia performed; Jean Shafiroff and Carmen D'Alessio attended.

• KT Sullivan is artistic director of The Mabel Mercer Foundation; Stephanie Pope's Broadway credits include Chicago, Fosse, and Kiss of the Spider Woman.

• The 2026 summer season runs from June 28 through August 29 at LTV's Studio Three Theater in Wainscott, East Hampton.

The friendraiser format is perhaps the most honest kind of arts event: it exists to build an audience, raise a little money, and remind supporters why the thing is worth attending. Hamptons Summer Songbook by the Sea, now in its third year of this pre-season tradition, has found its rhythm.

Donna Rubin and LTV Creative Director Josh Gladstone hosted the 3rd Annual NYC Friendraiser at The Triad Theatre, presenting a musical preview of the 2026 season at LTV Studios in East Hampton. The evening benefited LTV Studios and served as an advance look at the summer concert series, which runs from Sunday, June 28 through Saturday, August 29 at LTV's Studio Three Theater in Wainscott.

The program drew from cabaret's genuine talent pool. Barbara Fasano opened with "A Swell-egant, Elegant Party," setting the room's tone early: warm, precise, and polished. Laurence Maslon, host and producer of WLIW-FM's Broadway to Main Street, continued the Broadway thread. Journalist and broadcaster David Alpern introduced Eric Yves Garcia, who performed a Rodgers and Hart tribute before lifestyle personality Pamela Morgan brought a culinary note to the evening with "I Can Cook Too."

The evening's closing sequence belonged to three figures who each know how to finish a room. KT Sullivan, artistic director of The Mabel Mercer Foundation, spoke about the foundation's mission before joining Mark Nadler and Stephanie Pope for a high-energy sequence spanning Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Lerner and Loewe, and classic American Songbook. Nadler, the award-winning entertainer and pianist, and Pope, whose Broadway credits include Chicago, Fosse, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, ensured the evening closed on a note that justified the anticipation.

Jean Shafiroff and Carmen D'Alessio were among notable attendees. Rubin and Gladstone closed the program with final remarks before guests moved to a post-show reception.

The 2026 summer season opens June 28 at LTV's Studio Three Theater in Wainscott. For information and tickets, visit ltveh.org.