HISTORY - Playhouse Square



Harvey Fierstein was last seen on national tour starring as “Tevye” in the legendary musical Fiddler on the Roof. He first played this role for more than a year in the 2005 record-breaking Broadway revival. Fierstein made his professional acting debut at La Mama ETC in 1971 in Andy Warhol's only play, Pork. He followed that with appearances in more than 60 off off Broadway productions before he began his playwriting career.

Early plays like Flatbush Tosca and Cobra Jewels led to his underground hit, Torch Song Trilogy, which transferred Off-Broadway in 1981 and then to Broadway in 1982 where it won the Best Play Tony® Award as well as Drama Desk, Obie and Dramatist Guild awards. Fierstein also won Tony, Drama Desk and Theater World awards for his portrayal of the lead in Torch Song Trilogy. Fierstein won his third Tony for the libretto of the musical La Cage aux Folles, currently being revived on Broadway. His other plays include Safe Sex, A Catered Affair and Legs Diamond.

His television work includes "Nurse Jackie," "How I Met Your Mother," "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons". He was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the TV classic, "Cheers". Films include Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Death to Smoochy and Bullets Over Broadway. His children's book, The Sissy Duckling, is published by Simon & Schuster and the HBO film version won him the Humanitas Prize. Fierstein's starring role as Edna in the musical Hairspray won him his fourth Tony® Award as well as another Drama Desk Award, New York Magazine Award and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Performance of the Year. This made him only the second person in history to win Tonys in four different categories.

Fierstein was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2008.

Awards

1982 OBIE Award, Village Voice for writing and starring in Torch Song Trilogy

1982 George Oppenheimer-Newsday Playwriting Award for Torch Song Trilogy

1983 Fund for Human Dignity Award

1983 Theatre World Award for outstanding new performer, Torch Song Trilogy

1983 Drama Desk Award for outstanding new play for Torch Song Trilogy

1983 Drama Desk Award for outstanding actor in a play for Torch Song Trilogy

1983 Tony® Award for best performance by a leading actor in a play for Torch Song Trilogy

1984 Tony® Award for best book of a musical for La Cage aux Folles

1984 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for La Cage aux Folles

1984 Dramatists Guild Award for La Cage aux Folles

1989 Cable ACE Award for best writing in a special drama for “Tidy Endings”

1994 GLAAD Award for Visibility

2000 Humanitas Award for the children’s animation for “Happy Ever After: Fairy Tale for Every Child” for “The Sissy Duckling” episode.

2003 Tony® Award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for Hairspray

2003 Drama Desk Award for outstanding actor in a musical for Hairspray

2003 Drama League Award for distinguished performance for Hairspray

2008 Drama Desk Award nomination for best book for The Catered Affair

Major Plays

1972 International Stud

1973 In Search of the Cobra Jewels

1975 Freaky Pussy

1976 Flatbush Tosca

1978 Cannibals Just Don’t Know Better

1979 Fugue in a Nursery

1979 Widows and Children First!

1981 Torch Song Trilogy

1983 La Cage aux Folles a musical written with composer/lyricist Jerry Herman

1984 Spookhouse

1987 Safe Sex

1988 Forget Him

1988 Legs Diamond a musical written with and starring Peter Allen

2007/ The Catered Affair a musical with composer/lyricist John Bucchino

2008

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