Harvey Fierstein, Paula Vogel To Receive Legend Of Off Broadway Awards

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By Talya Zax May 1, 2017

The 7th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards will honor Harvey Fierstein, Paula Vogel and Israel Horovitz as Legends of Off Broadway, alongside Athol Fugard, Charlotte Moore, and Estelle Parsons. The honorees were announced last Wednesday, along with the nominees for the Awards.

Fierstein, Vogel and Horovitz — all playwrights, although Fierstein is also an actor — have each had a number of plays produced Off-Broadway. Vogel’s “Indecent,” which recently opened on Broadway after its Off-Broadway premiere last spring, is nominated for Best New Play.

Fierstein’s best-known work includes “Torch Song Trilogy,” a three-part play, and later film, that won the 1983 Tony Award for Best Play and the same year’s Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. He is also known for the book of the musical “La Cage aux Folles,” for which he won both Tony and Drama Desk Awards, and the book for the stage musical “Newsies.”

Horovitz is known for “Line,” which is the longest-running play in New York City, having played at the 13th St. Repertory Theater since 1974, and “The Indian Wants the Bronx,” for which he won an Obie Award for Best Play.

Other notable nominees for the Awards included the National Theatre Folksbiene’s “The Golden Bride,” nominated for Best Musical Revival, and “The Band’s Visit,” nominated for Best New Musical. Winners will be announced on May 16.

Talya Zax is the Forward’s opinion editor. Contact her at zax@forward.com or on Twitter, @TalyaZax.

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