Harvey Fierstein may be best known for Torch Song Trilogy, the award-winning play which he wrote and costarred in, but last night he was honored by The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center for a body of work that has shed light on the lives and loves of gays. Feted at The Times Center as part of the New York Times Live program series, Fierstein discussed his childhood and rise to stardom and watched as Edie Falco, Brooks Ashmanskas, Faith Prince, Dick Latessa and Matt Cavenaugh performed scenes from some of his best works. The highly entertaining evening was filled with Fierstein’s tales and quick wit, tender moments and fabulous performances.
On his childhood, Fierstein readily admits that he is fully aware of how lucky he was to grow up in a family where his sexuality was completed accepted. While he played with dolls and baby carriages, his brother took on the role of jock. Being that he “never was in the closet,” he said he could never embrace “the myth that being openly gay would ruin your life.” He explained that he actually had to learn to accept people who were in the closet.
Torch Song Trilogy was his first big commercial success, and it surprised him. It became a huge hit off Broadway and he felt that, “If we don’t move this thing I’ll be stuck here forever,” which is what prompted his decision to change venues and move to Broadway. He was convinced that once on Broadway it would probably close. It ran for five years. What was one of the first things he bought when he was finally making some money? A box of rubber bands.
Following Torch Song, he wrote the book of La Cages aux Folles, only after producer Allan Carr persuaded a reluctant Fierstein to do so by flashing a $10,000 check before his eyes. “I’d never seen a check that big,” Fierstein said. What was the point of the show? La Cages created “a world where being gay was the norm and the strange people were the heterosexuals.”
That was followed by the notorious flop Legs Diamond starring Peter Allen. Fierstein divulged how desperate Allen was to star on Broadway, but the show never quite worked. Except, that is, on one occasion—when standby Larry Kert performed the lead role during a rehearsal run through. When Fierstein saw that, he said he felt better and knew he wasn’t crazy and that there was actually something there.
The night ended with a heartfelt performance of the song “Coney Island” by Fierstein and Faith Prince from his latest endeavor “A Catered Affair,” currently in previews and set to open shortly on Broadway. He and Prince than literally ran off to make the 8:00pm curtain.
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