I Was Better Last Night – Harvey Fierstein

Mae gyrfa Harvey Fierstein wedi ei gludo o theatr cymunedol Brooklyn i oleuadau llachar Broadway, i ormodedd Hollywood ac yn ôl. Mae wedi derbyn clod a gwobrau am actio ac ysgrifennu ddramâu poblogaidd, ffilmiau, a rhaglenni teledu: Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Cheers, La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies, a Kinky Boots. Ond nad yw hyd yn oed yw rhai sydd agosad i Fierstein wedi clywed rhan fwyaf o’i hanesion – am frwydrau a gwrthdaro personol, rhyw a rhamant, am ei yrfa chwedlonol, a ddatgelir yn y tudalennau hynod ddifyr hyn.

Mae I Was Better Last Night yn ddweud stori ei fywyd, o blentyn anghydffurfiol a ganwyd yn Brooklyn 1952, i fydoedd Andy Warhol a ‘Theatre of the Ridiculous,’ i hawliau hoyw yn yr 1970au a’r argyfwng AIDS yn yr 1980au, trwy ddegawdau o gaethiwed, anobaith a buddugoliaeth.

Mae atgofion gonest Mr. Fierstein yn dangos diwylliant hoyw, esblygiad theatr, yn agostal a thaith ei deulu i’w derbyn. Mae I Was Better Last Night yn llawn doethineb, camgymeriadau a straeon sy’n dod at ei gilydd i ddisgrifio bywyd rhyfeddol o liwgar ac ystyrlon. Yn ffodus i ni i gyd, mae ei lais unigryw ac adnabyddadwy yr un mor ddeniadol, yn ddoniol, ac yn agored ar y dudalen.

Harvey Fierstein’s legendary career has transported him from community theatre in Brooklyn, to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood and back. He’s received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, films, and TV shows: Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Cheers, La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies, and Kinky Boots. While he has never shied away from the spotlight, Mr. Fierstein says that even those closest to him have never heard most of the tales-of personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, of his fabled career-revealed in these wildly entertaining pages.

I Was Better Last Night bares the inner life of this eccentric nonconforming child from his roots in 1952 Brooklyn, to the experimental worlds of Andy Warhol and the Theatre of the Ridiculous, to the gay rights movements of the seventies and the tumultuous AIDS crisis of the eighties, through decades of addiction, despair, and ultimate triumph.

Mr. Fierstein’s candid recollections provide a rich window into downtown New York City life, gay culture, and the evolution of theatre (of which he has been a defining figure), as well as 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 astonishingly colourful and meaningful life. Lucky for us all, his unique and recognisable voice is as engaging, outrageously funny, and vulnerable on the page.