Book Review: I was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein

 

Harvey Fierstein’s career began at community theater in Brooklyn and then advanced to the experimental Andy Warhol theater company where Harvey was encouraged to let his eccentric, nonconforming inner-being thrive. And he did just that. Working with Warhol’s Theatre of the Ridiculous company, Harvey honed both his acting and writing skills, which propelled him to write and perform his first mega hit, Torch Song Trilogy. Torch Song started as three separate plays, but was later combined into one moving play for an off Broadway run. Torch Song’s success thrust Harvey into the big time, winning him the first of four Tony awards.

 

I was, of course, aware that Harvey Fierstein wrote and performed Torch Song on Broadway and made a Hollywood movie, because that movie changed the way I saw myself, a young gay man who was looking for a long-term, monogamous relationship. That movie showed me that there were other gay men who wanted the same thing, and that it was possible to find that. 

 

What I wasn’t aware of, because I’ve never been a theater person, was the extraordinary career of Mr. Fierstein. Torch Song was only the first of a string of hit Broadway plays. He wrote the playbooks and performed Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage Aux Folles (which won him his second Tony), Newsies, and Kinky Boots. I had no idea Fierstein was such a giant of the stage. 

 

But this book is not only about Harvey’s career. He describes his personal struggles and conflicts, his romances and sex during the AIDS crises, his decades of addiction, and the rich New York gay culture of the seventies and eighties. 

 

I loved this read. Its pages are filled with the wisdom which comes from living a bewilderingly colorful life. It’s the most entertaining book I’ve read in years. 

 

I Was Better Last Night is and engaging, outrageously funny triumph.

Dinner with Friends

It was the last night of Ben’s annual ten-day visit, and we all went out to dinner at John Henry’s. We had a lovely patio table and were warm under the heaters. There was a possibility of rain, but the weather gods smiled at us this night. The service was good and the drinks plentiful. We all had a rather fun and joyous evening, but there were two downers for me: 

1)    The food at John Henry’s hasn’t been any good since the previous owner, John Laszlo, sold the restaurant five years ago. So my Lamb chops were expensive but not very tasty.

2)    I’m doing a dry January, February, and March. Which means, of course, everyone at the table but me got a little sloshed with good cheer. I have to say it’s not much fun watching others get drunk. I tried to laugh it off but the longer it went on, and the drunker they got, the more annoyed I became. I was happy to close that evening and go home to a warm, quiet bed.

Still, I rank these lovely men high among my short list of best friends, and it was wonderful to spend time and share a meal with them. 

New Year's Day with Family

My Husband's sister, Diana, and her family came over on Sunday, New Year’s Day at around 5:30pm. I was a little nervous that the two babies would be a handful but I was proven wrong. The babies were delightful and a fun time was had by all. Herman cooked up a bountiful Chinese feast and everybody eat like it was their last meal. They left nothing. Nada. 

Lots of laughs. Lots of interesting discussion. Plenty of hugs at the end.

That's my husband in front with the glasses, and I'm directly behind him. 

This is my husband, Herman, with his great Grandniece and our lovable dog Trek.