Fisher Center and Oblong Books present
Harvey Fierstein: I Was Better Last Night
with Justin Vivian Bond
March 11, 2022
A poignant and hilarious memoir from the cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award-winning actor and playwright, I Was Better Last Night reveals never-before-told stories of his personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, and of his fabled career.
Fierstein is joined on stage by another icon, Justin Vivian Bond, in a lively conversation about the memoir, including a Q&A with the audience.
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein is the Tony Award-winning author of Torch Song Trilogy and La Cage aux Folles. His other theater writings include Kinky Boots, Newsies, Casa Valentina (all Tony-nominated), A Catered Affair (twelve Drama Desk nominations), and Bella Bella, and his theater performances include Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray (Tony Awards for both), Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, Gently Down the Stream, and A Catered Affair. His film and television appearances include Mrs. Doubtfire, The Good Wife, and Cheers (Emmy nominated), and he has voiced characters in the film Mulan, and the shows Big Mouth, The Dark Crystal, BoJack Horseman, and many more. He lives in a small fictional town in Connecticut with whatever animals will have him.
Justin Vivian Bond
Justin Vivian Bond has appeared on stage (Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Londonʼs West End), screen (Shortbus, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and Sunset Stories), television (High Maintenance, Difficult People, and The Get Down), nightclub stages (most notably, a decades-long residency at Joeʼs Pub at The Public Theater), and in concert halls worldwide (including Carnegie Hall and The Sydney Opera House). In December 2019 Mx. Bond made their Vienna Staatsoper debut as Orlandoʼs child in the world premiere of Olga Neuwirthʼs Orlando.
Mx. Bond’s visual art and installations have been seen in museums and galleries in the United States (Participant, Inc., and The New Museum) and abroad (Vitrine, London). Their memoir, Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels (Feminist Press), won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction. They are the recipient of an Obie, a Bessie, and a Tony nomination, as well as an Ethyl Eichelberger Award, The Peter Reed Foundation Grant, The Foundation for Contemporary Art Grant for Artists, and The Art Matters Grant. They have self-released several full-length recordings, including Dendrophile and Silver Wells. As one-half of the legendary punk cabaret duo Kiki & Herb, they toured the world and released two CDs: Do You Hear What We Hear? and Kiki and Herb Will Die for You at Carnegie Hall.
Justin Vivian Bond has been at the forefront of Trans visibility and activism since the early 1990s. They have a master’s degree in live art from Central Saint Martins College in London and have taught performance composition and Live Art Installation at NYU and Bard College. Mx. Bond currently divides their time between residences in New York Cityʼs East Village and the Hudson Valley.
In January 2022 they will be celebrating the release of their latest record Only An Octave Apart a collaboration with the counter-tenor Anthony Roth Costanzo released by Decca Records with a series of concerts with The New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. www.justinvivianbond.com
Plan Your Visit
Eat & Stay
Nearby villages and towns in the Hudson Valley boast a large selection of restaurants, as well as a variety of hotels, motels, inns, and bed & breakfasts—many of which offer discounts for Bard visitors. Please mention Bard when making your reservations.
Dine Near Bard Stay Near BardDirections
Bard College’s main campus is located in Annandale-on-Hudson (a hamlet of Red Hook), New York, on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 90 miles north of New York City and 220 miles southwest of Boston. The Taconic State Parkway and the New York State Thruway provide the most direct routes to our campus.
Click the Google map below, or get directions to Olin Hall by entering the following address into your GPS: 35 Henderson Cir Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571.
From the East
If you are traveling from east of the Hudson River in New York State, take the Taconic State Parkway to the Red Hook / Route 199 exit, drive west on Route 199 through the village of Red Hook to Route 9G, turn right onto Route 9G, drive north 1.8 miles, turn left onto Entrance Road, then turn left onto Campus Road.
From the West
If you are traveling from west of the Hudson River, take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 19 (Kingston), take Route 209 (changes to Route 199 at the Hudson River) over the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to Route 9G, turn left onto Route 9G, drive north 3.4 miles, turn left onto Entrance Road, then turn left onto Campus Road.
More Info
Health and Safety Protocols
- Face masks are required at all performances.
- We will ask for proof of vaccination as you enter the theater. Audience members 5–11 years old must provide proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. Audience members ages 12 and above are required to provide proof of full vaccination. In general, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, or two weeks after the second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
- Guests may display proof of their Vaccination Record Card on a smartphone or present a physical copy. New York State residents, or anyone who received a COVID-19 vaccine in New York State, may present proof through the use of the Excelsior Pass (for more details, visit:Â https://epass.ny.gov).
- Bard is a fully vaccinated campus. The CDC defines a fully vaccinated campus as an institution of higher education where all students, faculty, and staff have completed their vaccination series to protect against COVID-19 before returning to campus—except those people who are unable to get the COVID-19 vaccine due to medical or other reasons—which, at Bard, is less than 1% of our community.
- Frequent cleaning and disinfecting of all areas and surfaces.