The fashion icon revisits his roots as a performer.
A renaissance man if ever there was one, Isaac Mizrahi’s notoriety largely blossomed from his work in fashion, though he’s been a mainstay as an entertainer dating back to his appearance in the 1980 classic film Fame. Since then, he’s run the gamut as a talk show host, an author (his 2019 book, I.M.: A Memoir ($18, Flatiron Books), was a New York Times best-seller) and as a musician. With regular appearances at New York’s Café Carlyle, Mizrahi will be bringing his new cabaret show, Isaac Mizrahi: Queen Size, to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. “If you’re going to be a multihyphenate,” he says, “if it comes from the right source in your soul, if it’s all coming from the same source, it’ll all be dealt with on a righteous level.”
What does it mean to you to be performing at Bay Street Theater? ISAAC MIZRAHI: I performed there last year and it was so great. I love that idea of that kind of regular appearances at a place. I hope I can build on last year.
You’ve got a place out East. What do the Hamptons mean to you? IM: In my early 20s, I was always in on a share. There was something so incredibly beautiful and serene about it. I really like being near the sea. There’s something in the negative ions of the actual sea that’s very relaxing to me. I sleep better near the beach. My dogs love it. I’ll do anything for my dogs; anywhere they are happier, I’m happier.
How did you select the songs for Isaac Mizrahi: Queen Size? IM: It’s all about silly references, but it all hangs together as a show. It’s very autobiographical. It tells the story of my life in some ways.
Is it meant as a companion piece to your book? IM: Yes, in a way it is. I’ve been doing cabarets since I can remember. This particular one I developed because I’d written this book and it would be smart to tie the two things together. I’m already working on my 2020 residence for the Carlyle. I’m writing a few other things, and I look forward to more performing. The growth of me is in show business. That’s where I see myself going.
Isaac Mizrahi: Queen Size, 8 p.m., August 26, baystreet.org