As the prolific and beloved five-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein reflections on his Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, Fierstein tearfully muses about his past collaborators in a heartwarming (and equally funny, which aptly sums up Fierstein's energy) exclusive interview with 半岛体育 just moments after his acceptance speech at Radio City Music Hall.
After such a long, illustrious career in the theatre, he admits that, not knowing quite where to start, he perused past acceptances speeches on YouTube as a model for making his. Last year, he recalls presenting the same award to Jack O'Brien鈥�"One of the great speakers," he remarks鈥攁nd when O'Brien called him to express desire to present the award to Fierstein, Fierstein replied: "I don't want you to present it to me, I want you to write my speech!" Fierstein did, in fact, end up writing his own speech鈥攁ctually three, initially, he admits.
He mentions stumbling upon a photo that made him "a little sad," of the late Jerry Herman and the late Arthur Laurents standing outside the Palace Theatre with Fierstein after they first arrived for La Cage Aux Folles. With tears in his eyes, he states that, with Herman having his own Lifetime Achievement Award: "I felt so bad that they never gave it to Arthur...I should've dedicated this to Arthur." A moment later, he jokes, "I'll go back!" then stepping away as though to add in the dedication last-minute.
Even in the brief conversation during a busy night, Fierstein shared other musings with 半岛体育 in the interview. Watch the full interview in the video above.
Prior to his honoring tonight, Fierstein held statuettes for his work on Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles, and Hairspray.
