I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2022-03-01 18:21:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Harvey Fierstein
- ISBN：B096DPZ957
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Summary
A revealing， poignant， and hilarious memoir from the cultural icon， gay rights activist， and four-time Tony Award winner。
Harvey Fierstein's stellar career has taken him from Broadway to Hollywood and back。 He's received accolades and awards for acting--Hairspray， Fiddler， Mrs。 Doubtfire， Independence Day--and writing: La Cage Aux Folle， Torch Song Trilogy （for which he also won a Tony for acting） and Kinky Boots。 But while he is widely known as one of today's most peerless performers， Harvey has never shared his own story until now。
He takes us from his childhood in Bensonhurst， Brooklyn--born in 1954， he was an eccentric， musical-loving boy--to performing in Andy Warhol's Pork at LaMama in 1971， to becoming an outspoken advocate for gay rights to his soaring career on Broadway and in Hollywood。 And Harvey's candid recollections give us， as well， a rich picture of downtown New York City life and gay culture， the evolution of theater over the course of his career， and a moving account of his family's journey of acceptance。 I Was Better Last Night is filled with wisdom gained， mistakes made， and stories that come together to describe an extraordinarily colorful， entertaining， and meaningful life。 Luckily for us all， his wonderfully unique and recognizable voice is as engaging， funny， and vulnerable on the page。
Harvey Fierstein's stellar career has taken him from Broadway to Hollywood and back。 He's received accolades and awards for acting--Hairspray， Fiddler， Mrs。 Doubtfire， Independence Day--and writing: La Cage Aux Folle， Torch Song Trilogy （for which he also won a Tony for acting） and Kinky Boots。 But while he is widely known as one of today's most peerless performers， Harvey has never shared his own story until now。
He takes us from his childhood in Bensonhurst， Brooklyn--born in 1954， he was an eccentric， musical-loving boy--to performing in Andy Warhol's Pork at LaMama in 1971， to becoming an outspoken advocate for gay rights to his soaring career on Broadway and in Hollywood。 And Harvey's candid recollections give us， as well， a rich picture of downtown New York City life and gay culture， the evolution of theater over the course of his career， and a moving account of his family's journey of acceptance。 I Was Better Last Night is filled with wisdom gained， mistakes made， and stories that come together to describe an extraordinarily colorful， entertaining， and meaningful life。 Luckily for us all， his wonderfully unique and recognizable voice is as engaging， funny， and vulnerable on the page。
Reviews
Krista
，
This is a gossipy and hilarious good time cut through with heartfelt remembrances of friends lost along the way。 Harvey has surely lived a full life and he took a lot of notes。 Perfect for anyone interested in American theatre or the progress of the gay rights movement through the back half of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st。NetGalley provided me with an arc in exchange for an honest review。
Michael
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Harvey Fierstein is a national treasure and this book serves to cement that status。
Phillip Oliver
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Harvey Fierstein's wildly entertaining autobiography makes for brisk reading and it is very hard to put down。 Beginning with his childhood in Brooklyn， he showed an early aptitute for art and was eagerly nudged by his mother who sent him to art school。 In the early 70s， he was dabbling in theater and appeared in an Andy Warhol play。 His fame came when he wrote "Torch Song Trilogy" and he went on to great successes with "La Cage Aux Folles，" "Hairspray，" and "Fiddler on the Roof，" just to name a Harvey Fierstein's wildly entertaining autobiography makes for brisk reading and it is very hard to put down。 Beginning with his childhood in Brooklyn， he showed an early aptitute for art and was eagerly nudged by his mother who sent him to art school。 In the early 70s， he was dabbling in theater and appeared in an Andy Warhol play。 His fame came when he wrote "Torch Song Trilogy" and he went on to great successes with "La Cage Aux Folles，" "Hairspray，" and "Fiddler on the Roof，" just to name a few。 Along the way， he has acted in films， television and has written children's books。 It is not all about the work though。 Fierstein was just coming of age during the Stonewall era and was actuely aware of the inequalities and discrimination that gay people experienced in this country。 Throughout his life， he has spoken out on a multitude of issues and has strived to educate the public whenever ignorance was noted （look up his revelation of an interview with Barbara Walters on YouTube）。 His gay rights activism extended into the 80s when the AIDS crisis dominated the news。 （And here's a kick in the stomach - when he appeared on the Tonight Show， he overheard legendary actress Ginger Rogers tell the stage manager that she did not want to be on stage when Fierstein was there because she could not risk getting AIDS。 Fierstein's comeback to her is priceless！）There are many laugh-out-loud moments in the book and hilarious stories involving Arthur Laurents， Robin Williams， Estelle Getty and many others。 There are moments of sad reflection and poignancy as well。 He is candid about his personal demons， his addictions and family traumas。 This is a great read and will be of interest to anyone interested in the theater as well as providing a vivid look at gay life during the 70s and 80s。 。。。more
Susan Walker
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Fun read with a lot of interesting stories。
Jennifer Schultz
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Although I am familiar with Harvey Fierstein's major Broadway work in Hairspray and Torch Song Trilogy， I quickly realized that I was very unfamiliar with his groundbreaking early career。 Fierstein's hilarious， eye-opening， bittersweet， and powerful memoir is a rank above your everyday celebrity memoir; not only is this an entertaining theatrical memoir， but it's also a remarkable portrait of the emerging LGBTQ+ pre and post-Stonewall community， as well as the ravages it faced during the height Although I am familiar with Harvey Fierstein's major Broadway work in Hairspray and Torch Song Trilogy， I quickly realized that I was very unfamiliar with his groundbreaking early career。 Fierstein's hilarious， eye-opening， bittersweet， and powerful memoir is a rank above your everyday celebrity memoir; not only is this an entertaining theatrical memoir， but it's also a remarkable portrait of the emerging LGBTQ+ pre and post-Stonewall community， as well as the ravages it faced during the height of the AIDS epidemic。 Librarians/booksellers: A must read for Broadway fanatics！ Purchase for your patrons/customers who enjoy frank memoirs。 This will likely receive major publicity。 Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Natalie
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