The Tony Awards has announced Harvey Fierstein as the recipient of the 2025 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Fierstein’s contributions to the industry will be honored at the previously announced Tony Awards ceremony on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall.
Fierstein has collected four Tony Awards (in four different categories) throughout his decades-long Broadway career. Fierstein holds the distinction of being the only individual to win a pair of Tonys for acting and playwriting for the same work, having won Leading Actor in a Play and Best Play trophies for 1982’s “Torch Song Trilogy.” Moreover, his “Torch Song” Best Play Tony coupled with his 1984 Tony win for Best Book of a Musical for “La Cage aux Folles” makes Fierstein one of only three writers (alongside Alfred Uhry and previous Lifetime Achievement recipient Terrence McNally) to have won both Best Play and Best Book of a Musical awards. Fierstein took home a fourth Tony for his leading turn in 2002’s “Hairspray.” Fierstein’s additional Broadway writing credits include penning Tony-nominated books for 2012’s “Newsies” and 2013’s “Kinky Boots,” the book for 2008’s “A Catered Affair” and 1988’s “Legs Diamond,” as well as the Tony-nominated play “Casa Valentina” and providing a revised book for the 2022 revival of “Funny Girl.” Fierstein’s other performance credits include replacing as Tevye in the 2004 revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” and originating the role of Uncle Winston in the aforementioned “Catered Affair.”
“Harvey Fierstein’s contributions to the American theater, both as an artist and activist, represent an extraordinary legacy,” said American Theatre Wing president and CEO Heather Hitchens and Broadway League president Jason Laks in a joint statement. “We are thrilled to honor him with this year’s Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Award and can’t wait to celebrate one of our icons at the Tony Awards on June 8th.”
The Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
