Harvey Fierstein: “Why Are We Doing The Republican’s Job For Them?”

Broadway luminary and LGBT activist Harvey Fierstein shared an essay via Facebook explaining why America should stop protesting Donald Trump campaign rallies.

And he’s very, very right.

Watching our people protesting Trump today I have to say that I don’t understand what we’re doing. I understand that we must always speak out against intolerance and bigotry and anyone who would destroy American values to ensure their own profits but, at this moment…

WHY ARE WE DOING THE REPUBLICANS’ JOB FOR THEM?

They created Trump. They earned him. As if their hateful rhetoric wasn’t enough, just in how they treated our President, they earned Trump! With every racist slight, with every homophobic slander, with every manufactured semi-automatic weapon and oil spill and fracking disaster and shuttered women’s clinic and attack on affordable health care, the Republican leadership built this Frankenstein monster. Let the monster they created and nurtured destroy them!

What do you think they’ll do if we manage to Dump Trump? They’ll only turn around and give us the next horror from their arsenal of selfish intolerance. Look who they have to offer America. Next up is Cruz. CRUZ!!!!! Someone who has done nothing in his career but self promote, obstruct progress, and lie. Don’t you see that Trump is the radical that makes the dangerous Cruz look reasonable? Even THEY loathe Cruz. But they are willing to back him to the White House.

And even if it’s not Cruz, who do else do they have? Romney? We already said no to that vacuous man. Jeb? Why not run Neil Bush? America has already bailed him out. He’s been bought and paid for, so let’s have him? And since no one has ever taken Kasich seriously he’s avoided the lens of the microscope, but trust me, you don’t want him either. AND WHY IS IT OUR JOB TO GUIDE THE REPUBLICANS TOWARD A LESSER EVIL? They’ve already all said that they’d back Trump if he gets the nomination. Does anyone really think they have America’s welfare at heart????

My friends… This is the time for us to work FOR OUR PARTY and not for the Republicans. They poisoned their garden and can now only grow weeds and briers like Trump and Cruz. They need to make things right in their own world or, trust me, they will poison us all. They need to clean up the toxic waste dump that has become their party. We can’t do that for them.

Meanwhile, WE have our own work to do. We have our own candidates to support. We have America’s future to worry about. Let’s do our job. Let’s use our energy to work FOR SOMETHING. Not against it.

Harvey Fierstein: “Get loud against Putin and his anti-gay pogrom”

From Harvey Fierstein’s Facebook page

It’s time to start paying attention to what’s going on in Russia in case you haven’t yet. Putin has declared war on the gay community.

He’s made it illegal to promote homosexuality in theater, film, tv, print that in any way could be seen by youth. In other words anything gay is now pornography.

He’s outlawed the adopting of Russian children to any country that has legalized marriage equality.

And now it is reported that his next law will remove the children of GLBT families from their homes. This will apply to biological children as well as formerly adopted ones.

This is a horror. Not only for our community but even for straight families. Already divorced parents are threatening one another with blackmail to tell authorities that their ex is now gay just to control parental rights.

Putin wants this attack against human rights to be his legacy. He believes he can get the backing of the Vatican as well as all other conservative religious leaders to join his cause.

What can we do? Make his actions and his plans public. Shine the light of public opinion on this evil doer.
Boycott the Winter Olympics in Russia. Believe me, Putin will use the Olympics as proof that the world backs up his action. There are only two ways to deal with a tyrant: Starve out the rat, or destroy him.

So, my friends, do your research and then GET LOUD AGAINST PUTIN AND HIS ANTI-GAY POGROM. This is a very small world. Our brothers and sisters in Russia need us NOW!

(via Harvey Fierstein’s Facebook page)

Broadway-bound Kinky Boots opens in Chicago

Kinky Boots, the new musical by Cyndi Lauper & Harvey Fierstein, opened last night at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the show appears to be headed in the right direction as Chicago gives the creators the opportunity to fine tune the piece.

A couple of the reviews from opening night:

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times: While no one would mistake this new musical, which celebrated its pre-Broadway opening Wednesday night at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre, as groundbreaking in any way, it is an ideally crafted, altogether feel-good show — something of a “La Cage aux Folles” for the recession-plagued, anti-bullying, “it WILL get better” generation. And its solid if predictable storytelling (Harvey Fierstein’s take on the popular little British film comedy of 2005), its accomplished and varied score (an impressive first Broadway effort by Cyndi Lauper, that petite paragon of pop, who has penned several numbers that are sure to become keepers), its conveyor belt-smooth flow (courtesy of director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell), and its strong, winningly genuine cast, all conjoin to make it an engaging entertainment.

Michael Roberts, Showbiz Chicago: Kinky Boots has something unique going for it that will add to its success; that is Billy Porter…I would venture to say that Kinky Boots will do for Mr. Porter what Hello, Dolly did for Carol Channing, Funny Girl for Streisand; Phantom for Michael Crawford and Evita for Patti LuPone. This is will become a show and role that will be forever synonymous with Mr. Porter, and rightfully so…Alongside Mr. Porter is the equally engaging Stark Sands as Charlie Price. Though his character could stand a little more development in the second act, Sands has remarkable stage presence and chemistry with his co-star…The book for Kinky Boots is classic Harvey Fierstein, who always has the innate ability to create an environment where his characters can be bigger than life one minute, then intensely internal the next…The material at hand is perfect fodder for [Jerry] Mitchell to develop the environment to allow his actors to find their truth…A musical would be nothing without the music, and for this, Cyndi Lauper is a revelation…Not since Rent has there been a musical that is poised to have at least three numbers cross over to the pop charts.

The marquee of Kinky Boots in Chicago

Jerry Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein celebrate the opening of Kinky Boots in Chicagp

Pictures via Broadway.com

Harvey Fierstein on Obama’s accomplishments

“Obama announced the end of American troops in Iraq and NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT? Hello? What does that man have to do to get some credit from people?”

“He ended DON’T ASK…, he’s fighting DOMA, he’s extended marriage benefits to Fed employees, he’s given us a healthcare system we can build on, he saved us from a full blown Depression, he killed Ben Laden and a few other nasty types, and now he’s ending Bush’s idiot war in Iraq. And he’s done it all pretty quietly while fighting back challenges to his every word from the GOP which got us into all these messes in the first place. PEOPLE – A LITTLE RESPECT?” – Harvey Fierstein on Facebook