At this time of year seemingly everyone is waving their rainbow flags to very publically be seen to supporting Pride. However, others do it 24/7 throughout the whole year without the need for fanfares and trumpets blaring. One such person is four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein who has always been a role model for our community in the way he celebrates pride his own way every single day.
His latest act of generosity sees him donating $2.5 million to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Billy Rose Theatre Division, which will establish the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab.
His Gift will ensure that the Lab will be constructed in what is currently a 770 square-foot meeting room and office space, and will become a hub for theatre education, allowing high school- and collegiate-level students and teachers a place to engage with the library’s expansive archives. Free programming in the space will have opportunities for class visits, after-school and weekend programs for teens, professional development, research seminars, workshops, panel discussions, interviews, and demonstrations.
“As the son of a librarian it’s only natural that I’d be drawn to this project,” says Fierstein. “The recent pandemic proved that there is no substitute for live theatre but what we do on stage exists only in that moment and then is gone. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ collections of photos, recordings, scripts, and live video capture offers a unique way to preserve a glimmer of theatre’s magic. My hope is that this new Theatre Lab will provide a space to not only revel in the past but inspire artists to create the theatre of tomorrow.”
Here’s Fierstein singing ‘I Am What I Am‘ from. the musical La Cage Aux Folles for which he wrote the Book. A perfect sentiment from a perfect queer role-model
Labels: 2021, donation, Harvey Fierstein, NY Public Library
