Latest news with #TorchSongTrilogy
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'80s Sitcom Star 'Looks Amazing' In Tribute to Broadway Legend
'80s Sitcom Star 'Looks Amazing' In Tribute to Broadway Legend originally appeared on Parade. Mindy Cohn looks like no time has passed since she charmed sitcom audiences with her perfect comic timing on the '80s hit The Facts of Life. The 59-year-old actress recently shared a cuddly photo of herself with Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein in honor of Fierstein's Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Tony Awards. Fierstein, 73, first rose to prominence in Broadway's Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in beginning in 1982. Cohn and Fierstein are longtime close friends who met when they were were quick to praise Fierstein's talent in response to Cohn's social media tribute. One wrote, 'How can you not love him?' while another added, 'OMG! I love this pic and have loved Harvey since I saw Torch Song Trilogy. Can't believe this honor has taken this long! Love to Harvey, and love to you, Mindy!'In addition to celebrating Fierstein's well-deserved award, fans also noted the 59-year-old actress's seemingly ageless appearance. One fan wrote, 'Wow, you have not changed a bit—you look amazing,' and another added, 'Beautiful.' Cohn may look like no time has passed, but she's been busy since her sitcom days in the 1980s. She currently plays Ann Holiday on the Apple TV+ hit Palm Royale and has a highly successful voiceover career as well. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 '80s Sitcom Star 'Looks Amazing' In Tribute to Broadway Legend first appeared on Parade on Jun 17, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tonys 2025 Live Updates: ‘Buena Vista' and ‘Stranger Things' Win 3 Early Awards
Harvey Fierstein has won four Tony Awards in his career, including honors for both writing and acting. On Sunday he added a fifth to the list, with an award for lifetime achievement. Here's what to know about Fierstein's notable performances and writing — and unmistakable voice. It all started with 'Torch Song Trilogy.' 'Torch Song Trilogy,' a four-hour portrait of a drag performer written by and starring Fierstein, opened on Broadway in 1982. It was a landmark production for a generation of gay men: 'A play in which the gay character was smart, funny and fully alive? A revelation,' Stuart Emmrich would write in The Times decades later. Fierstein won two Tonys with the show, one for best play and one for his performance. 'Torch Song' was revived on Broadway in 2018, this time with Michael Urie in the lead role of Arnold. (A character sometimes known as, naturally, Virginia Ham.) 'Originally, the gay men came in disguise,' Fierstein said about the play's audience earlier this year, in an interview with New York magazine. 'When we did it again, they came to the theater owning the show.' He's made a career confronting gender norms onstage. After 'Torch Song' came 'La Cage aux Folles' in 1983, with a Tony-winning book by Fierstein and music by Jerry Herman. It was the first Broadway musical, The Times noted then, to put a gay relationship at the forefront — here, between a drag nightclub's impresario and its star. Fierstein has also written the books for 'Newsies' (2012) and 'Kinky Boots' (2013), and revised the book of 'Funny Girl' for its 2022 revival. Fierstein's breakthrough as a musical performer came in 2002, with 'Hairspray.' He played the larger-than-life Edna Turnblad, a 1960s housewife whose peppy daughter helps her come fabulously into her own. Fierstein won a Tony for the role, and in 2016 reprised his performance in a live, televised rendition of the show. 'Edna is not just a cross-dressing sight gag,' Ben Brantley wrote in his 2002 review. 'She's every forgotten housewife, recreated in monumental proportions and waiting for something to tap her hidden magnificence.' And about that voice. Here are just a few of the ways The Times has characterized Fierstein's distinctive timbre over the years: 'throaty,' compared to a 'frog' or 'foghorn,' 'all the old 'gravel' clichés don't come close,' and 'sounding as he does, he should be driving a cab.' In an interview around his 2022 memoir, 'I Was Better Last Night,' Fierstein had a simple explanation. 'My father had the same voice,' Fierstein said. 'It's enlarged secondary vocal cords. It's the most boring answer.'
New York Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tonys 2025 Live Updates: ‘Buena Vista Social Club' Wins 3 Early Awards
Harvey Fierstein has won four Tony Awards in his career, including honors for both writing and acting. On Sunday he will add a fifth to the list, with an award for lifetime achievement. Here's what to know about Fierstein's notable performances and writing — and that voice — as he accepts the award. It all started with 'Torch Song Trilogy.' 'Torch Song Trilogy,' a four-hour portrait of a drag performer written by and starring Fierstein, opened on Broadway in 1982. It was a landmark production for a generation of gay men: 'A play in which the gay character was smart, funny and fully alive? A revelation,' Stuart Emmrich would write in The Times decades later. Fierstein won two Tonys with the show, one for best play and one for his performance. 'Torch Song' was revived on Broadway in 2018, this time with Michael Urie in the lead role of Arnold. (A character sometimes known as, naturally, Virginia Ham.) 'Originally, the gay men came in disguise,' Fierstein said about the play's audience earlier this year, in an interview with New York magazine. 'When we did it again, they came to the theater owning the show.' He's made a career confronting gender norms onstage. After 'Torch Song' came 'La Cage aux Folles' in 1983, with a Tony-winning book by Fierstein and music by Jerry Herman. It was the first Broadway musical, The Times noted then, to put a gay relationship at the forefront — here, between a drag nightclub's impresario and its star. Fierstein has also written the books for 'Newsies' (2012) and 'Kinky Boots' (2013), and revised the book of 'Funny Girl' for its 2022 revival. Fierstein's breakthrough as a musical performer came in 2002, with 'Hairspray.' He played the larger-than-life Edna Turnblad, a 1960s housewife whose peppy daughter helps her come fabulously into her own. Fierstein won a Tony for the role, and in 2016 reprised his performance in a live, televised rendition of the show. 'Edna is not just a cross-dressing sight gag,' Ben Brantley wrote in his 2002 review. 'She's every forgotten housewife, recreated in monumental proportions and waiting for something to tap her hidden magnificence.' And about that voice. Here are just a few of the ways The Times has characterized Fierstein's distinctive timbre over the years: 'throaty,' compared to a 'frog' or 'foghorn,' 'all the old 'gravel' clichés don't come close,' and 'sounding as he does, he should be driving a cab.' In an interview around his 2022 memoir, 'I Was Better Last Night,' Fierstein had a simple explanation. 'My father had the same voice,' Fierstein said. 'It's enlarged secondary vocal cords. It's the most boring answer.'
San Francisco Chronicle
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Harvey Fierstein, on eve of Tony honor, looks back on his career
NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein handed director Jack O'Brien the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year, it's his turn. 'Following him is not an easy task. In fact, I spoke to him and he said, 'I just want to put my name in there as someone who would love to give you the award.' And I said, 'Well, I'd rather you didn't.' I said, 'I'd rather you wrote my speech,'' Fierstein says. Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind 'Torch Song Trilogy' and 'Kinky Boots,' will get the award Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. He connected by Zoom from his home in 'a small fictional town in Connecticut' to talk about his career and a Broadway season dominated by George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and Denzel Washington in 'Othello.' The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: Do you know what you're going to say on Tony night? FIERSTEIN: I never know what I'm going to say. But I have been trying to gather thoughts, which I guess is a good idea. And I watched at least five or six lifetime achievements speeches by others. AP: Has the honor triggered any personal thoughts? FIERSTEIN: I did write a line that may or may not end up in my speech, saying that the most humbling thing is to think that my life meant something to the community. It's one thing to be enjoyed, but to have the kind of meaning that they turn around and say, 'We want to give you a lifetime achievement'? That's a very heady idea. AP: Was a lifetime in the theater inevitable? FIERSTEIN: No, no, no. I guess there are theatrical types, but art was always inevitable. I was sort of artistic, but I thought I'd maybe be a Disney animator. I don't think I ever believed I was good enough to create the Disney characters, but there were people that took the creation and then did the other drawings. I thought I could do that. Something in the arts. I had my BA in painting from Pratt. That's what I thought was going to do. AP: You arrived on Broadway just as AIDS was consuming the arts. What was Broadway like then? FIERSTEIN: There was no time to think about it. We had to go to war immediately. If you remember, Ronald Reagan never said the word 'AIDS' in eight years. There was no attack against the disease; there was only an attack against people. People wouldn't go to restaurants because there were gay waiters. There were people that wouldn't go to Broadway because there were gay people. They might be in the audience with gay people. AP: You work has always been about compassion. Why didn't you want to burn it all down? FIERSTEIN: My writing is telling stories that mean something to me. And certainly there's hatred and there's anger in my stories — and truth — as far as I can tell them. But the horrible truth is that no matter how badly we act as human beings, there's still a humanity under it all. AP: What are your thoughts about the current Broadway season? FIERSTEIN: Who would have guessed that we'd have a season where the plays were the big thing and the musicals are sort of ignored? Thanks to George and Denzel and these stars that return to Broadway — thankfully return to Broadway — and they've done these plays and it's wonderful. They're bringing an audience that maybe wouldn't go see a musical or a play. AP: Just get them to experience it, right? FIERSTEIN: Once you go to the theater, once you get in there and if you have a good time, if it does something, you're going to come back. I don't care why you came in the first place. Come back and see what else we have and open your mind and heart — and wallets. AP: What about the pipeline of playwrights — are you happy with it? FIERSTEIN: There are people that are in love with theater, certainly, but there are people that want to make a living. And those people seem to drift to television and movies. I have a nephew married to a wonderful woman who wants to be a writer, but what she wants to write is movies and TV. It wouldn't even interest her to write a play. I don't know why. It seems easier to write television. It seems easier to write a half-hour where you already are given the characters. AP: Congratulations again. You are beloved in this community and a lifetime achievement award seems appropriate. FIERSTEIN: I thought it was because they just wanted to give me something else to dust, because I ain't got enough stuff to dust here. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Harvey Fierstein, on eve of Tony honor, looks back on his career
NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein handed director Jack O'Brien the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year, it's his turn. 'Following him is not an easy task. In fact, I spoke to him and he said, 'I just want to put my name in there as someone who would love to give you the award.' And I said, 'Well, I'd rather you didn't.' I said, 'I'd rather you wrote my speech,'' Fierstein says. Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind 'Torch Song Trilogy' and 'Kinky Boots,' will get the award Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. He connected by Zoom from his home in 'a small fictional town in Connecticut' to talk about his career and a Broadway season dominated by George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and Denzel Washington in 'Othello.' The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: Do you know what you're going to say on Tony night? FIERSTEIN: I never know what I'm going to say. But I have been trying to gather thoughts, which I guess is a good idea. And I watched at least five or six lifetime achievements speeches by others. AP: Has the honor triggered any personal thoughts? FIERSTEIN: I did write a line that may or may not end up in my speech, saying that the most humbling thing is to think that my life meant something to the community. It's one thing to be enjoyed, but to have the kind of meaning that they turn around and say, 'We want to give you a lifetime achievement'? That's a very heady idea. AP: Was a lifetime in the theater inevitable? FIERSTEIN: No, no, no. I guess there are theatrical types, but art was always inevitable. I was sort of artistic, but I thought I'd maybe be a Disney animator. I don't think I ever believed I was good enough to create the Disney characters, but there were people that took the creation and then did the other drawings. I thought I could do that. Something in the arts. I had my BA in painting from Pratt. That's what I thought was going to do. AP: You arrived on Broadway just as AIDS was consuming the arts. What was Broadway like then? FIERSTEIN: There was no time to think about it. We had to go to war immediately. If you remember, Ronald Reagan never said the word 'AIDS' in eight years. There was no attack against the disease; there was only an attack against people. People wouldn't go to restaurants because there were gay waiters. There were people that wouldn't go to Broadway because there were gay people. They might be in the audience with gay people. AP: You work has always been about compassion. Why didn't you want to burn it all down? FIERSTEIN: My writing is telling stories that mean something to me. And certainly there's hatred and there's anger in my stories — and truth — as far as I can tell them. But the horrible truth is that no matter how badly we act as human beings, there's still a humanity under it all. AP: What are your thoughts about the current Broadway season? FIERSTEIN: Who would have guessed that we'd have a season where the plays were the big thing and the musicals are sort of ignored? Thanks to George and Denzel and these stars that return to Broadway — thankfully return to Broadway — and they've done these plays and it's wonderful. They're bringing an audience that maybe wouldn't go see a musical or a play. AP: Just get them to experience it, right? FIERSTEIN: Once you go to the theater, once you get in there and if you have a good time, if it does something, you're going to come back. I don't care why you came in the first place. Come back and see what else we have and open your mind and heart — and wallets. AP: What about the pipeline of playwrights — are you happy with it? FIERSTEIN: There are people that are in love with theater, certainly, but there are people that want to make a living. And those people seem to drift to television and movies. I have a nephew married to a wonderful woman who wants to be a writer, but what she wants to write is movies and TV. It wouldn't even interest her to write a play. I don't know why. It seems easier to write television. It seems easier to write a half-hour where you already are given the characters. AP: Congratulations again. You are beloved in this community and a lifetime achievement award seems appropriate. FIERSTEIN: I thought it was because they just wanted to give me something else to dust, because I ain't got enough stuff to dust here. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit
