Queerdom’s own Harvey Fierstein will be hosting tonight’s PBS broadcast premiere of From Shtetl to Swing. The program’s focus is the internourishing of Jewish and Black musical talents in the U.S. It will air at 8 on New York’s channel 13. Though Harvey is the narrator, no promotional materials for the program say that gay people are mentioned in it, qua gays, for their contributions to American music.
Is Harvey so gay that it doesn’t matter? He got his start in show-biz at 15 as a drag queen in Manhattan clubs. In addition to his triumph in Torch Song Trilogy, he wrote the libretto for the musical La Cage aux Folles and he was involved in TV’s The Sissy Duckling for children. He marched in the 2003 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as Mrs. Claus.
From Shtetl to Schwing features performances by Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, Artie Shaw and Bennie Goodman, among others. Even Betty Boop gets trotted out to illustrate how Jewish and Black musicians influenced each other. What gayer recommendation for the program could there be?
