The Library for the Performing Arts Play Club

Play Club is like a book club, but for plays! Whether you are familiar with the art of reading plays, or looking to expand your appreciation for dramatic literature, this book club is an opportunity to read plays you have been meaning to explore or have never considered reading before. Learn about new works, discover new playwrights, and make friends!

This group will read one playscript from the Library for the Performing Arts circulating collection every month, and then come together to discuss the work. We will read one scene from the play together and discuss the text in a book club discussion format.

This program will take place in person at the Library for the Performing Arts Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab. This program is intended for adult patrons.

Monday, December 16 at 6:30pm -

What begins as a chance encounter in a New York nightclub leads drag performer Arnold Beckoff on a pursuit of love, happiness, and a life he can be proud of. From a failed affair with a reluctant lover to a committed relationship with the promise of a stable family, Arnold’s struggle for acceptance meets its greatest resistance when he faces off against the person whose approval is most important to him: his mother.

Harvey Fierstein is a four-time Tony Award-winning writer, actor, and activist. In 1983, he received two Tonys for writing and starring in Torch Song Trilogy, received a third Tony the following year for writing La Cage aux Folles, and another in 2003 for Best Actor in Hairspray. Fierstein also wrote the book for the play Kinky Boots, which won the 2013 Tony for Best Musical.

We have a few copies of the play available at the Library for the Performing Arts, but if you are looking for additional copies, the Drama Book Shop has graciously set aside copies of the play at a discounted price of 10% off for Play Club attendees. (While supplies last.) Please visit the Drama Book Shop to purchase your copy.

Photo Credit: From left, Will Jeffries, Maria Cellario, Harvey Fierstein, and Christopher Marcantel in Fugue in a Nursery (part 2 of Torch Song Trilogy) by Harvey Fierstein. Photograph by Carol Rosegg, 1979. Billy Rose Theatre Division.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing [email protected].

Event Venue

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Bruno Walter Auditorium , 111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, United States