Hello Isaac: Enter the House of Mizrahi at Bay Street

Calling someone an entertainer means they have command of the stage. In the case of Isaac Mizrahi, he is an entertainer who has mastered multiple stages throughout his decades-long career in the areas of fashion, music, theater, comedy, film, television, and now, even podcasting. However, for his show at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater, Mizrahi’s musical talents will take center stage, mixed with a healthy splash of comedy.

While he will be flanked by the same Ben Waltzer-led band that he’s performed with for over 25 years, he promises a new show. “It’s all new to Bay Street. The thing about Bay Street, I love it, and this is the third or fourth time I’m working this room. I feel comfortable there, I know the staff, I know what to expect as far as the audience is concerned,” he says, in comparison to the “trepidation” he has when performing elsewhere in the country. “In Sag Harbor, darling, you know what that audience wants from you,” he quips, adding, “If you’re out of state, you just don’t know. When I arrive at Bay Street I feel relaxed and ready to dig in deeper than I would at another venue.”

In recent years, Mizrahi has leaned more into the performance aspect of his career, and less into the fashion side, which is why the multi-hyphenate calls himself an entertainer.

“I see everything I do as entertainment related. Fashion is a form of entertainment. People shop in the same way that they go to a concert or a show. But now I feel I’m coming into something, after all these years of putting in the time, a really rewarding period of living the life I like the most. Which is mostly performing, acting, singing, and talking as opposed to (design). I’ve designed clothes and that’s a big part of my life — but it’s become ancillary,” he says, recalling being stopped twice in the same day, not about his fashion, but his performances.

“I went to dinner and a man stopped me,” he recalls, “I expected him to say his wife loved my clothes, but he said he loved my show at 54 Below. Another person in the elevator of my building stopped me to say he was looking forward to the Bay Street show. I feel like people know me as an entertainer now.”

Both art forms are personal. Fashion is worn, but attending a live theater show demands a different level of dedication, one of time and attention. Mizrahi says it’s this dynamic that makes him gravitate toward live performance. “When you’re in a room with live performers, darling, you need to be riveted — or bored out of your mind — but for the most part, the commitment that you bring to a live performance as an audience is bigger than you bring to anything else,” Mizrahi muses, “When you go to the theater, darling, you are there.” It’s a distraction, he says, from the outside; a chance to get lost. “The news cycle is so incredibly relentless — but when you sit in a theater, that is a kind of relief from strife that you don’t experience in your regular life.”

It’s a mutual exchange, Mizrahi notes. “Those golden moments I spend on stage are the most engaged and incredibly happy of my life,” and says he even experiences it when he’s the one in the audience. “I went to the theater last night and saw the show Good Night, Oscar, and sitting there for those 140 minutes it was almost like a vacation from everything because you must focus on the details that are presented.”

As for what he’ll be presenting at his show, Mizrahi says he really just wants them to understand his perspective on things. “I want them to either relate or disagree on something,” he says, adding, “If you like me, and you want more of me, you will get more.”

If Mizrahi’s live performance isn’t enough, don’t worry — as usual, the entertainer has plenty more on his plate. Currently, he’s focused on his new podcast, “Hello Isaac.” Launched in June, the podcast is doing extremely well, he says. Recent guests have included Andy Cohen, Margaret Cho, and Gabourey Sidibe.

“The overarching idea that moderates the conversation on my podcast is the idea of success and failure, and how failure motivates as a catalyst to success. I love it, I really love it. In some cases it’s been cathartic. I had my friend Sandra Bernhard on and we spoke about an incident that we had, I never knew that she was harboring this intense hurt from that. It’s a very compelling thing.”

Hosting a podcast, Mizrahi says, is something he’s wanted to do for a long time, but was waiting for the right moment. He feels the same about recording an album. “There needs to be some kind of propelling thing to make it happen, I’ve written songs here and there. Maybe I need to write another five songs and do an album of mostly original songs. It can’t just be because people ask for it, because they do … there needs to be an artistic basis.”

Some may call Mizrahi a Renaissance man, and while the definition surely applies to him, he received some extra Renaissance-related validation last summer when Beyoncé name-checked him alongside other legendary fashion designers and queer icons on the remix to her hit song, “Break My Soul.” Mizrahi says it felt incredible and validating, “Because it’s her, and I just worship her. I think she’s the most incredible, beautiful entertainer there is. I just love her, so it was very empowering to me.”

On that strength of that co-sign, Mizrahi is sure to dazzle the crowd when he takes the stage in Sag Harbor. For the evening, the Bay Street Theater will become the House of Mizrahi.

Make sure you’re in the house for Isaac Mizrahi at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater, on Monday, August 7 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at the box office by calling 631-725-9500 or emailing boxoffice@baystreet.org, or online at baystreet.org, starting at $70.