Harvey Fierstein is the Recipient of The Spirit of Dr. King Award at Ridgefield’s 30th Anniversary

On Monday January 19th, 2026 at 3:00pm, the Town of Ridgefield will host the 30th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, honoring the legacy of the great civil rights leader, with an awards ceremony, speakers and performances at The Ridgefield Playhouse. This free community event commemorates 30 years of bringing together many of the town's arts organizations and speakers, as well as honoring community leaders with The Spirit of Dr. King Community Service Award. This year's Spirit of Dr. King Award will be presented to actor, playwright, and activist, Harvey Fierstein. Known for his significant activism in gay rights, Harvey continuously uses his platform as a successful actor and playwright to be a prominent, outspoken voice for many issues that are important. His support of the non profits and arts organizations in his hometown of Ridgefield is exemplary, whether it be donating his time, creativity and renowned quilts to local causes, or doing a speaking event or a Q&A after one of his many films.   In addition to the award ceremony, this year includes performances by A.C.T. of Connecticut’s Youth Choir, The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, actress/writer Kimberly Wilson, The Ridgefield Chorale and more.

For Harvey, when asked if he would accept this award, the answer was clear- while Fierstein often supports local nonprofits quietly, he expressed a renewed sense of purpose in accepting this year’s honor:  “Seeing how the legacy of Dr King and the life’s work of so many other activists are being derided, I would very much like the opportunity to speak to our community. And so, with gratitude and purpose I say… Yes, thank you.”  Harvey’s most recent community events include quilt exhibitions like "You Made That? The Quilting Adventures of Harvey Fierstein" at the Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center in July 2025, showcasing his unexpected talent for quilting inspired by HGTV during the pandemic, as well as spearheading a fundraising campaign for a bronze statue memorializing another famous Ridgefield resident, author Maurice Sendak, which will be installed in front of The Ridgefield Library sometime in 2026.   Over the years Harvey has participated in multiple fundraisers and events- including Q&A’s at The Ridgefield Playhouse for everything from a showing of Kinky Boots, to a book event celebrating his 2022 book “I Was Better Last Night,” to a screening of Torch Song Trilogy and more recently, The Times of Harvey Milk.  Harvey’s personal accomplishments are too many to mention. However, he gained notice for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy, winning both the Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play. He went on to win the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles, then Best Actor in a Musical for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he reprised for the Hairspray Live! television special. On film he appeared in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in both Mulan and Mulan II. Harvey also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2025 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. As one of the first openly gay celebrities in the United States, Fierstein was an outspoken change-agent representing authentic gay and lesbian life in contemporary entertainment and drama, "with no apologies and no climactic suicides".

ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF DR. KING AWARD

Started in 1996 as one of several community activities and initiatives organized and sponsored by ROUND (Ridgefielders Organized for Understanding and Diversity), the MLK celebration has changed and grown over the years;  from standing on the steps outside of the Community Center, to becoming a larger event in the basement of Town Hall, to becoming even more celebratory when moved to The Ridgefield Playhouse in 2013. When Rudy Marconi took office as First Selectman in 1999, he became Ridgefield’s first elected official to formally participate and joined Mark Robinson as a co-organizer of the event, with former Ridgefield Playhouse Executive Director Allison Stockel  joining the team about 12 years ago. “Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, The Martin Luther King Day celebration has become an important, enduring and highly regarded tradition in Ridgefield,” says Mark Robinson, ceremony organizer and former member of the state’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission, “Our purpose is to ensure that the spirit with which Dr. King lived and the struggles for which he died are remembered and live on in the hearts and minds of our community.”  The event is free to the community and takes place at The Ridgefield Playhouse which is located at 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; 203-438-5795; ridgefieldplayhouse.org.