Harvey Fierstein — gravel-voiced, larger-than-life, and gay in a way that makes your inner child feel safe and seen — is finally getting what we’ve all known he’s deserved for years: a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. That’s right, THE Tony. For THE Harvey. The 78th Tony Awards on June 8 will be a glittery coronation of a man whose entire career has been one long, loving middle finger to the closet.
Let’s start with the facts: he didn’t come out after he got famous. He didn’t get outed in a tabloid scandal. He was out, full stop. The 2004 documentary Broadway: The American Musical puts it bluntly and beautifully:
“One of America’s first few openly gay major celebrities, actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein didn’t need to ‘come out’ after he became famous, and was never ‘outed’ against his will.”
He was loud. He was proud. He was here.
A proud son of Brooklyn and a product of New York’s post-Stonewall downtown theatre scene, Fierstein emerged from the drag-laden, glitter-smudged nightlife of the 1970s with eyeliner, ideas, and something to say. His work was gutsy and glam, heartfelt and high-camp.
As that same documentary continues:
“A typical product of the post-Stonewall Off-Broadway and live performance art scene of New York in the 1970s, Fierstein combined a semi-experimental, in-your-face approach with the campy nostalgia, the heart-tugging showmanship, and the conventional formats of the tearjerker, the drag revue, and the sitcom.”
It’s the perfect summation of a career that began with Torch Song Trilogy — a masterwork of love, grief, wigs, and drag — and just kept going. That play, with Fierstein starring as torch singer and drag queen Arnold Beckoff, scooped up Tonys and hearts alike. It was radical. It was raw. It was rhinestoned. It was…everything.
Since then, Fierstein has done it all: La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray, Kinky Boots, Casa Valentina, and even Newsies (yes, Newsies — proof that queers and labor rights go hand in hand). He wrote. He acted. He danced in heels. He voiced a cartoon soldier in Mulan. He shared the screen with Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, saved the world in Independence Day, and even popped up in Bros, reminding the next generation of gays that they stand on his sparkly, sturdy shoulders.
He also once made Emmy history with a guest role on Cheers. Fierstein doesn’t just make queer art — he is queer art.
Naturally, there have been a few bumps. Fierstein recently revealed that he’s been banned from the Kennedy Center during the Trump administration. But in true Harvey fashion, he keeps sashaying forward, unbothered and unbowed. As one might say: not even Mar-a-Lago could dim his spotlight.
On April 24, the Tony Awards Administration Committee confirmed that Fierstein would be the 2025 recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Heather Hitchens and Jason Laks — Broadway bigwigs in their own right — said it best:
“Harvey Fierstein’s contributions to the American theatre, both as an artist and activist, represent an extraordinary legacy. We are thrilled to honor him with this year’s Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Award, and can’t wait to celebrate one of our icons at the Tony Awards on June 8th.”
And celebrate we will. The ceremony, hosted by the divine Cynthia Erivo, is set for Radio City Music Hall and promises all the glitz and gravity Fierstein deserves. His name now joins a roster of theater titans — Carol Channing, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim, and Angela Lansbury among them. Pretty good company, right?
RELATED: Fierstein Shares It All In A Moving Recap Of An Amazing Life So Far
So here’s to Harvey: the man with the voice like a pack-a-day drag queen angel, the brain of a revolutionary, and the heart of a showgirl. Thank you for showing us that queer stories matter — that they can be tragic and hilarious, defiant and soft, messy and magnificent.
Raise your martinis. Adjust your boas. Harvey’s getting a Lifetime Tony.
And honestly? It’s about damn time.
Source: OUT