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Associated Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Harvey Fierstein, on eve of Tony honor, looks back on his career
NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein handed director Jack O'Brien the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year, it's his turn. 'Following him is not an easy task. In fact, I spoke to him and he said, 'I just want to put my name in there as someone who would love to give you the award.' And I said, 'Well, I'd rather you didn't.' I said, 'I'd rather you wrote my speech,'' Fierstein says. Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind 'Torch Song Trilogy' and 'Kinky Boots,' will get the award Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. He connected by Zoom from his home in 'a small fictional town in Connecticut' to talk about his career and a Broadway season dominated by George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and Denzel Washington in 'Othello.' The conversation has been edited for clarity and Do you know what you're going to say on Tony night?FIERSTEIN: I never know what I'm going to say. But I have been trying to gather thoughts, which I guess is a good idea. And I watched at least five or six lifetime achievements speeches by others. AP: Has the honor triggered any personal thoughts?FIERSTEIN: I did write a line that may or may not end up in my speech, saying that the most humbling thing is to think that my life meant something to the community. It's one thing to be enjoyed, but to have the kind of meaning that they turn around and say, 'We want to give you a lifetime achievement'? That's a very heady Was a lifetime in the theater inevitable? FIERSTEIN: No, no, no. I guess there are theatrical types, but art was always inevitable. I was sort of artistic, but I thought I'd maybe be a Disney animator. I don't think I ever believed I was good enough to create the Disney characters, but there were people that took the creation and then did the other drawings. I thought I could do that. Something in the arts. I had my BA in painting from Pratt. That's what I thought was going to You arrived on Broadway just as AIDS was consuming the arts. What was Broadway like then?FIERSTEIN: There was no time to think about it. We had to go to war immediately. If you remember, Ronald Reagan never said the word 'AIDS' in eight years. There was no attack against the disease; there was only an attack against people. People wouldn't go to restaurants because there were gay waiters. There were people that wouldn't go to Broadway because there were gay people. They might be in the audience with gay You work has always been about compassion. Why didn't you want to burn it all down?FIERSTEIN: My writing is telling stories that mean something to me. And certainly there's hatred and there's anger in my stories — and truth — as far as I can tell them. But the horrible truth is that no matter how badly we act as human beings, there's still a humanity under it What are your thoughts about the current Broadway season?FIERSTEIN: Who would have guessed that we'd have a season where the plays were the big thing and the musicals are sort of ignored? Thanks to George and Denzel and these stars that return to Broadway — thankfully return to Broadway — and they've done these plays and it's wonderful. They're bringing an audience that maybe wouldn't go see a musical or a Just get them to experience it, right? FIERSTEIN: Once you go to the theater, once you get in there and if you have a good time, if it does something, you're going to come back. I don't care why you came in the first place. Come back and see what else we have and open your mind and heart — and What about the pipeline of playwrights — are you happy with it?FIERSTEIN: There are people that are in love with theater, certainly, but there are people that want to make a living. And those people seem to drift to television and movies. I have a nephew married to a wonderful woman who wants to be a writer, but what she wants to write is movies and TV. It wouldn't even interest her to write a play. I don't know why. It seems easier to write television. It seems easier to write a half-hour where you already are given the characters. AP: Congratulations again. You are beloved in this community and a lifetime achievement award seems I thought it was because they just wanted to give me something else to dust, because I ain't got enough stuff to dust here. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit
The Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Harvey Fierstein, on eve of Tony honor, looks back on his career
Last year, Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein handed director Jack O'Brien the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year, it's his turn. 'Following him is not an easy task. In fact, I spoke to him and he said, 'I just want to put my name in there as someone who would love to give you the award.' And I said, 'Well, I'd rather you didn't.' I said, 'I'd rather you wrote my speech,'' Fierstein says. Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind 'Torch Song Trilogy' and 'Kinky Boots,' will get the award Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. He connected by Zoom from his home in 'a small fictional town in Connecticut' to talk about his career and a Broadway season dominated by George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and Denzel Washington in 'Othello.' The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: Do you know what you're going to say on Tony night? FIERSTEIN: I never know what I'm going to say. But I have been trying to gather thoughts, which I guess is a good idea. And I watched at least five or six lifetime achievements speeches by others. AP: Has the honor triggered any personal thoughts? FIERSTEIN: I did write a line that may or may not end up in my speech, saying that the most humbling thing is to think that my life meant something to the community. It's one thing to be enjoyed, but to have the kind of meaning that they turn around and say, 'We want to give you a lifetime achievement'? That's a very heady idea. AP: Was a lifetime in the theater inevitable? FIERSTEIN: No, no, no. I guess there are theatrical types, but art was always inevitable. I was sort of artistic, but I thought I'd maybe be a Disney animator. I don't think I ever believed I was good enough to create the Disney characters, but there were people that took the creation and then did the other drawings. I thought I could do that. Something in the arts. I had my BA in painting from Pratt. That's what I thought was going to do. AP: You arrived on Broadway just as AIDS was consuming the arts. What was Broadway like then? FIERSTEIN: There was no time to think about it. We had to go to war immediately. If you remember, Ronald Reagan never said the word 'AIDS' in eight years. There was no attack against the disease; there was only an attack against people. People wouldn't go to restaurants because there were gay waiters. There were people that wouldn't go to Broadway because there were gay people. They might be in the audience with gay people. AP: You work has always been about compassion. Why didn't you want to burn it all down? FIERSTEIN: My writing is telling stories that mean something to me. And certainly there's hatred and there's anger in my stories — and truth — as far as I can tell them. But the horrible truth is that no matter how badly we act as human beings, there's still a humanity under it all. AP: What are your thoughts about the current Broadway season? FIERSTEIN: Who would have guessed that we'd have a season where the plays were the big thing and the musicals are sort of ignored? Thanks to George and Denzel and these stars that return to Broadway — thankfully return to Broadway — and they've done these plays and it's wonderful. They're bringing an audience that maybe wouldn't go see a musical or a play. AP: Just get them to experience it, right? FIERSTEIN: Once you go to the theater, once you get in there and if you have a good time, if it does something, you're going to come back. I don't care why you came in the first place. Come back and see what else we have and open your mind and heart — and wallets. AP: What about the pipeline of playwrights — are you happy with it? FIERSTEIN: There are people that are in love with theater, certainly, but there are people that want to make a living. And those people seem to drift to television and movies. I have a nephew married to a wonderful woman who wants to be a writer, but what she wants to write is movies and TV. It wouldn't even interest her to write a play. I don't know why. It seems easier to write television. It seems easier to write a half-hour where you already are given the characters. AP: Congratulations again. You are beloved in this community and a lifetime achievement award seems appropriate. FIERSTEIN: I thought it was because they just wanted to give me something else to dust, because I ain't got enough stuff to dust here. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Shucked: This could be the next Book of Mormon
What is Shucked about? It's about two hours 25 minutes including the interval. And if you don't relish gags like that, folks, you may not want to devote two hours 25 minutes to this off-beat, Tony-nominated American musical comedy, which is so replete with corny one-liners and crosstalk it could leave you in sore need of a lie-down as you clutch your sides, groaning. But if your taste that way inclines, you're in for a treat. The show's title, and bite-sized scenario, indicate the lie of the land: this quirky fable, presided over by two tongue-in-cheek narrators, is set in Cob County, a small town cut off from the world by its bountiful, all-purpose corn 'wall'. When the corn mysteriously wilts, the heroine, 'Maizy' (obvs) – poised to marry her beau (called, naturally, Beau) – ventures forth to find help from a, duh, corn doctor – an under-achieving con-man called Gordy. He decides to get his mitts on the town's mysterious rocks, presumed valuable, and is prepared to fake devotion to the very green Maizy to obtain his ends. Hokum 'as high as an elephant's eye' to quote Oklahoma! – and having listened to a few so-so numbers from the 2023/2024 Broadway cast recording, I ambled rather than sprinted to its UK premiere, again directed by Jack O'Brien and the opening offer from Regent Park's new AD Drew McOnie. What no words on the page can do full justice to, though, is the way it all comes together beautifully, and zestily, on the stage, testament to an exhaustive development process. The original inspiration was an old, much-loved US TV series called Hee Haw, which combined sketches with country music. The composing duo here – Brandy Clark and Shane McAnnally – are in their element with that genre, and Scott Pask's great slanting barn of a set references the TV show's design. Robert Horn's book chases laughs but its undercutting wit sharpens the experience rather than hollowing it out. Resembling breathing spaces, some songs may be corny in sentiment but also impart homespun truths. What's Shucked about, in all seriousness? It's about couples, and coping – the way our kernel of self-worth is easily blighted and needs nurturing. This 'message', if you will, is organically conveyed in the lead performances, which combine silliness with sobering notes of sincerity. Sophie McShera is doltish and dreamy but also a free-spirit worth rooting for as Maizy, and like her, Ben Joyce's son of the soil Beau has a gorgeous number that lets rip with yearning. There's terrific support from a lung-busting Georgina Onuorah as Maizy's no-nonsense cousin Lulu and Matthew Seadon-Young as Gordy, the grasping interloper, while Monique Ashe-Palmer and Steven Webb have just the right twinkle of knowingness (and knowingness about their knowingness) as the narrating story-tellers. Keith Ramsay as a scene-stealing wag called Peanut risks triggering allergies with his constant wisecracks ('I was just playing Frisbee with my goat – he's a lot heavier than I thought') but he neatly embodies the (mainly) innocuous pleasure of a barmy show which, after a hopefully balmy summer, may yet head, like some latter-day, family-friendly Book of Mormon, to the West End.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Russia downed MH-17 UN aviation watchdog rules
Samantha Donovan: The United Nations top aviation body has ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Two hundred and ninety eight people on board were killed, including 38 Australian citizens and residents. The case was brought by Australia and the Netherlands. And in the first ruling of its type, the International Civil Aviation Organization Council found Russia violated international aviation law that requires states not use weapons against civilian aircraft in flight. Twenty five year old Australian Jack O'Brien was among those who died when MH17 was shot down. His mother, Meryn O'Brien, says the ruling is an important step in the ongoing push to hold Russia accountable. Meryn O'Brien: It's a long game that's already gone on for years. It's going to keep on going on. I don't know what the outcome in terms of Russia's response will be, but it's another finding that's out there to, I guess, tell the world Russia did this again. Samantha Donovan: Dr. Carrie MacDougall is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne's law school. In her time as a legal adviser at Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she played a significant role in advising the government on legal issues relating to the downing of MH17. The International Civil Aviation Organization Council will now decide what penalties Russia should face. And I asked Dr. McDougall if there's any chance Russia will comply with any further orders. Carrie MacDougall: I mean, Russia has, of course, a long history of failing to cooperate in relation to the range of initiatives that have been pursued to try and secure justice for the downing of flight MH17. So it does seem highly unlikely, particularly given the very difficult relations between both Australia and the Netherlands on one hand and Russia on the other. But if it does refuse to engage in negotiations, I don't think that would prevent the council ordering Russia to pay reparations. Of course, it's a separate question about whether any payment would ever be forthcoming. Samantha Donovan: What sort of reparations could be ordered, do you think? Carrie MacDougall: As I mentioned, this is the first determination on the merits before the ICAO council. So we don't have a good benchmark by which we might measure this. Reparations would cover something like an apology or an undertaking not to repeat this violation, but it could also involve some sort of compensation. Samantha Donovan: But are we right in thinking it's very unlikely that Russia would ever comply with those orders? Carrie MacDougall: I think that's a fair assessment given Russia's overt violations of international law across the board at the moment. Samantha Donovan: Does the International Civil Aviation Organization have any power to enforce any order of reparations? Carrie MacDougall: It could issue an order that would be binding, but there'd be very limited measures at its disposal. It has already removed Russia from membership on the council. I'm not aware of other measures that it could take in that regard. Samantha Donovan: As a lawyer who worked on the case, does it give you satisfaction that this order has been made? Carrie MacDougall: I will be very frank and say, look, in my personal capacity, you know, it is important, obviously, that we take measures to ensure the safety of civil aviation. I also think it's important that the international community pay very close attention to Russia's meddling and force used against Ukraine, not just from February 2022, but going back to 2014. A small part of me, though, is very conscious that of the, I guess, overwhelming investment of political and financial resources in the pursuit of justice for this case, which stands in very stark contrast to the very modest efforts to pursue justice in relation to the conflict in Ukraine more broadly, not to mention the very many other breaches of international law taking place in other conflicts around the globe. Samantha Donovan: Tell me more about what you mean by that. Carrie MacDougall: My main area of expertise is as an international criminal lawyer. So I spend most of my time looking at the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide. And we see in relation to the pursuit of justice for those crimes committed around the globe, a lot of rhetoric and not a lot of action. And I think in contrast, we've seen this just extraordinary effort by the Dutch and Australian governments in particular to pursue justice in relation to MH17. And I think what would be really great is if we saw the same commitment to justice in relation to any number of crimes currently being committed in Gaza. But of course, there's a large range of crimes that we can identify having been committed in Ukraine in the context of the full scale Russian invasion since 2022, as well as what we might describe as many of the forgotten conflicts in Yemen or Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Samantha Donovan: Dr. Carrie MacDougall is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne's law school.
