Exclusive: Harvey Fierstein Looks Back on His Life in the Theatre
The 78th Annual Tony Awards will air on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
By: Backstage Live with Richard Ridge Jun. 06, 2025
On Sunday, June 8, Harvey Fierstein will take the stage at Radio City Music Hall to accept perhaps the biggest award of his career- the 2025 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
Has he been able to put the honor into perspective? "No! In a way, it's the highest honor that the Tonys can give you, because it's not for a specific thing. It's for your lifetime's work," he told BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. "It's really hard... you know, people say, 'I loved you in this show, or that show.' Obviously, because of who I am and the work I've done, I get letters and people who tell me what I meant to them. But this [honor] has a weight to it. It's quite humbling. It says, 'Your life has meant something to me!' That's really something."
Fierstein is already the winner of four Tony Awards: two for Torch Song Trilogy (Best Play and Best Actor in a Play) as well as Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical for La Cage Aux Folles and Best Actor in a Musical for Hairspray. He has also written the Tony-winning hit Kinky Boots along with Newsies, Casa Valentina, A Catered Affair, Safe Sex, Bella Bella!, Legs Diamond, Spookhouse, Flatbush Tosca, Common Ground and more. He revised the book for Funny Girl, which had a hit run on Broadway and a multi-city North American tour, following its London production. His children’s book, The Sissy Duckling (Humanitas Award), is now in its fifth printing, and his New York Times bestselling memoir I Was Better Last Night is available on Knopf.
"I don't now how to look back. I did write my book, and the fabulous part about that was that once I wrote each chapter, it freed me to forget it and move on. The book was incredibly freeing in that way," he added. "Since I got the phone call about this award, I've tried to put everything into perspective and it's really hard!"
Watch in this exclusive interview as Harvey looks back on his incredible contributions to the American theatre and gets ready for Sunday night!
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