Harvey Fierstein: Hello, Gorgeous

Whenever friends came backstage to gush after a show, Harvey Fierstein would inevitably quip, aware of flaws even in his triumphs, “I was better last night.” Now it’s the title of his new memoir (March 1, Knopf), and as the longtime Litchfield County resident says in his preface, “If you can’t go back, what’s the harm of looking back?”

In his own distinct, conversational style — you can almost hear the inimitable voice as you read it — the 67-year-old Fierstein tells hilarious, poignant and revealing stories from his early Brooklyn and Greenwich Village days, of his half-century work as an always-out gay man and LGBTQ activist, and his Tony Award-winning career as actor and/or playwright for such celebrated works as Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray, Newsies, Kinky Boots and a revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Next up: re-crafting the musical Funny Girl for Broadway this spring. Plus, he’ll squeeze in talks with the Mark Twain House & Museum at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford on March 14 and the Ridgefield Playhouse on March 15. (This interview has been edited for clarity.)

FR: After reading 363 pages of your memoir, it seems pretty clear what you did during your sequestered time.

HF: We were all set to tour Bella Bella [the 2019 off-Broadway solo play he wrote and starred in about feminist icon Bella Abzug]. We wanted to raise money for women running for office leading up to the 2020 elections. But the pandemic hit and those plans went down the drain. So I went to my home in Connecticut and at first I cleaned my desk, then I went to my sewing room and made about six quilts for friends. Then I thought, well, what else can I do? …[CONTINUED]