Harvey Fierstein

"A ... memoir from the cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award winner, [whose] stellar career has taken him from Broadway to Hollywood and back. He's received accolades and awards for acting--Hairspray, Fiddler, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day--and writing: La Cage Aux Folle, Torch Song Trilogy (for which he also won a Tony for acting) and Kinky Boots. But while he is widely known as one of today's most peerless performers, Harvey has never shared his own story until now"--

A Memoir

I Was Better Last Night

Three Plays ; with an Introd. ... and a Note by the Author

The Torch Song Trilogy

Plays

Torch Song Trilogy

"Much revived, most recently in a 2010 production transferred to Broadway from London's Menier Chocolate Factory, La Cage Aux Folles remains one of the all time biggest hits, adding new dimension to the boulevard comedy. After twenty years of un-wedded bliss Georges and Albin, two men partnered for better-or-worse get a bit of both when Georges' son (fathered during a one-night fling) announces his impending marriage to the daughter of a bigoted, right-wing politician. Further complicating the situation is the 'family business': Albin and Georges run a transvestite nightclub in St. Tropez, where Albin is the "star" performer 'Zaza.' Georges reluctantly agrees to masquerade as "normal" when he meets the family of the bride-to-be. But Albin has other plans, with hilarious results"--Back cover.

La cage aux folles

The Sissy Duckling

A poignant and hilarious memoir from the cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award–winning actor and playwright, revealing never-before-told stories of his personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, and of his fabled career Harvey Fierstein’s legendary career has transported him from community theater in Brooklyn, to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood and back. He’s received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, films, and TV shows: Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Cheers, La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies, and Kinky Boots. While he has never shied away from the spotlight, Mr. Fierstein says that even those closest to him have never heard most of the tales—of personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, of his fabled career—revealed in these wildly entertaining pages. I Was Better Last Night bares the inner life of this eccentric nonconforming child from his roots in 1952 Brooklyn, to the experimental worlds of Andy Warhol and the Theatre of the Ridiculous, to the gay rights movements of the seventies and the tumultuous AIDS crisis of the eighties, through decades of addiction, despair, and ultimate triumph. Mr. Fierstein’s candid recollections provide a rich window into downtown New York City life, gay culture, and the evolution of theater (of which he has been a defining figure), as well as a moving account of his family’s journey of acceptance. I Was Better Last Night is filled with wisdom gained, mistakes made, and stories that come together to describe an astonishingly colorful and meaningful life. Lucky for us all, his unique and recognizable voice is as engaging, outrageously funny, and vulnerable on the page.

Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy

Three Plays

When his father agrees with the other ducks that Elmer is a sissy, Elmer, a special little duck who loves to bake, draw, and put on puppet shows, runs away, but when his father is wounded by hunters, Elmer's cleverness and bravery saves the day, showing everyone just what a sissy can do! Reprint.

Elmer is not like the other boy ducklings. While they like to build forts, he loves to bake cakes. While they like to play baseball, he wants to put on the halftime show. Elmer is a great big sissy. But when his father is wounded by a hunter's shot, Elmer proves that the biggest sissy can also be the greatest hero. Acclaimed actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein has crafted a heartwarming story, based on his award-winning HBO animated special, about learning to embrace the special qualities we all possess. Henry Cole's gently humorous illustrations give it a new vitality. This is a book to share with all children, to help them understand that each one of them is unique and valuable.

THE STORY: Nestled in the Catskills—1962's land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein's trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of "self-made women" as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.

Casa Valentina

From Tony Award–winning actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein, a funny and touching story of a duckling who embraces his identity. Elmer is not like the other boy ducklings. While they like to build forts, he loves to bake cakes. While they like to play baseball, he wants to put on the halftime show. Elmer is a great big sissy. But when his father is wounded by a hunter’s shot, Elmer proves that the biggest sissy can also be the greatest hero. Acclaimed actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein has crafted a heartwarming story, based on his award-winning HBO animated special, about learning to embrace the special qualities we all possess. Henry Cole’s gently humorous illustrations give it a new vitality. This is a book to share with all children, to help them understand that each one of them is unique and valuable.

Book & CD

Susan Sontag

Christopher Durang

Tony Kushner

Terrence McNally

David Greenspan

Paula Vogel

Lanford Wilson

Harry Kondoleon

William H. Hoffman

American Plays & the AIDS Crisis

The Way We Live Now

In Torch Song - the two-act revival of Harvey Fierstein's award-winning Torch Song Trilogy - the life of Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing, Jewish drag queen living in New York City, is dramatized over the span of the late 1970s and 1980s. Told with a likable, human voice, Torch Song follows Arnold's odyssey to find happiness in New York. All he wants is a husband, a child, and a pair of bunny slippers that fit, but a visit from his overbearing mother reminds him that he needs one thing more: respect.

Harvey Fierstein

About

Books

Join the club