Safe Sex

by Harvey Fierstein

Safe Sex by Fierstein, Harvey

Genres: Plays, Theatre, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Drama

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Harvey Fierstein is an acclaimed American actor, playwright, and screenwriter known for his unmistakable gravelly voice and groundbreaking work in theatre, film, and television. He first rose to prominence with Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in, earning Tony Awards for both Best Play and Best Actor in a Play. Fierstein followed with another major success, writing the Tony-winning book for the musical La Cage aux Folles, and later won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he reprised for Hairspray Live!.
In addition to his acting accolades, Fierstein wrote the books for Broadway musicals such as Kinky Boots, Newsies, and A Catered Affair, continuing to shape musical theatre with stories that center empathy and inclusion. He has been widely recognized for bringing LGBTQ+ narratives to mainstream audiences and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
Fierstein’s screen work includes memorable roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and voicing Yao in Disney’s Mulan. A versatile performer and vocal activist, he has authored op-eds and scripts that champion visibility and equality. His 2022 memoir, I Was Better Last Night, became a New York Times Bestseller and offered personal reflections on his identity, career, and survival.
Openly gay since early in his career, Fierstein has long been a pioneer in LGBTQ+ representation on stage and screen. Though he resists labeling his gender identity, he embraces his unique experience, saying, “I’m comfortable being me.” His influence remains vital to American culture and theatre.

Reviews

[Teddy 🫀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

These plays made me CRY real tears and think about what it was like to live through the AIDS crisis as a queer person which is something I will never (thankfully) experience. Highly recommend!

[Joseph Crupper · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching the movie of Torch Song Trilogy, I can tell why this series of short plays is not among Fierstein’s most lauded. But I could feel the passion that he was expressing at that moment in the AIDS crisis.
The first two plays floated in a dreamscape where the respective men negotiated sex and relationships, and sewn into the narrative was a fear of HIV. These are not in my preferred style of writing, but had powerful dialogue nonetheless. Safe Sex particularly had a killer monologue that I would love to see performed.
The best play, in my opinion, was On Tidy Endings, so rooted in reality. Whereas the first two plays asked gay men to negotiate relationships in this new world of “safe sex,” On Tidy Endings asks the former lovers of a deceased AIDS victim to negotiate their own type of relationship. The stigmatized virus in question makes Arthur invisible to the rest of society and Marion seemingly more visible, even though she is the ex-wife of the victim in question. Their conversation is rife with complexity and emotion, and as a modern reader, I found myself worried for the characters for reasons the original audience might not have been.
An important work.

[John Geddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Fierstein’s one acts from the height of AIDS crisis, it’s an interesting time capsule of the theatrical response. Unlike big picture plays like The Normal Heart, this focuses more on how the epidemic changed the way people related to each other. As always, Fierstein has great dialogue and compelling characters but the one act format leaves me wanting a big more from each of the vignettes.

[Isaac Breiding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how each vignette portrays very different sides related to how HIV can affect relationships. I would love to see a staged version of the title play “Safe Sex” as the seesaw seems like a very compelling story telling device. The last monologue Arthur gives when talking about Collins death gave me the same feels Falsettos did when Marvin dies cuddling with Whizzer on the hospital bed. Very good collection of gay plays.

[Joe Marino · Rating 4 out of 5]

After his meteoric rise to fame with TORCH SONG and LA CAGE, Harvey Fierstein was back with this 1987 triptych about the effect of AIDS on the gay community. The three plays are wildly different- I was drawn to the final play about the aftermath of a man who dies from AIDS- his ex wife and his husband deal with the fallout. A masterclass in touching, human writing

[Robin]

This collection of plays about AIDS by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein is a time capsule of the mid-late 1980s. There's anger, fear and courage, and some of the shows are tearjerkers. Does the dialogue feel melodramatic? Well, yes, but consider the horrifying times the shows were written in.

[Brian McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three one act plays. The first two are wordy, weird and pretentious. The third is more traditional and ultimately the most successful to convey the heart ache and frustration of losing a loved one to AIDS.

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't as good as the magnificent Torch Song Trilogy but is still definitely worth reading. It captures a point in time and a community in turmoil - anger, grief, confusion, joy all mixed together. Very powerful.

[Kayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play sucked me right in. It's funny, but also serious. There are a few great monologues inside, too!

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading an old classic! Love the characters

[Daniel Krolik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best kind of dated. Time capsule dated, and as Harvey says, thankfully so. Full of delicious prose, and even the soap opera stylings of the last piece work.

[Cole Frasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was beautiful. I must revisit her

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trio of one acts may not be as famous as Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, but it is every bit as important. Written in a more poetic but still naturalistic style, this compilation acts as the sequel to the world presented in Torch Song. It crystallizes how the advent of AIDS forever changed male/male sex. It is a story of desire unfulfilled out of fear, exploring whether intimacy can exist in the post-AIDS world or must remain a thing of the past. Each one act has an individual voice, yet all three are filled with the comedy and pathos Fierstein so excellently blends together. The text of “Safe Sex” is so vivid and evocative that it becomes one of those rare plays that retains its beauty and power on the page outside of performance.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Fierstein's work varies pretty wildly in quality--the first two one-acts try too hard--but "On Tidy Endings" has all the human strengths (and human weaknesses) of Torch Song Trilogy.

[Jaykumar B · Rating 4 out of 5]

some works stay with us for they are relevant, and topical, and funny, and honest, and brutal, and most importantly are part of a continuum, a tradition, if one may, and thus remain alive as a present that is a history as well..

[Ilias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago [in high school], and I don't remember much of it. but it was part of my crusade to read every book in my local library about gay people, and I have remembered it, mostly the staging, for years. I'm also pretty sure I cried, so that's something.

[Christopher Clough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Performing the second play in this trilogy was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.

[By The Cover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvey Fierstein is a genius. Literally are there any mistakes? I couldn’t find any

[Alexa Yohey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last play left me in tears.