Editing Torch Song Trilogy (section)

==Reception and impact==
''International Stud'' first premiered in 1978 at La MaMa, where Fierstein made his professional acting debut in [[Andy Warhol]]'s play ''Pork'' in 1971. Fierstein has spoken about the difficulty he faced as an openly gay playwright. In an archived 1982 interview with ''[[Playbill]]'' republished to commemorate the show’s anniversary, he reminisced on the attitude producers and critics took towards his work: “Fabulous writer. Fabulous play. But gay. Goodbye.” <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/how-harvey-fiersteins-torch-song-became-the-trilogy|title=How Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Became the Trilogy|last=Reif|first=Robin|date=June 10, 2017|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11|archive-date=June 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607182210/https://www.playbill.com/article/how-harvey-fiersteins-torch-song-became-the-trilogy|url-status=live}}</ref> Mel Gussow of The New York Times panned the play as a "sincere but sentimentalized view of a transvestite extremes." Despite the criticism, Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa, chose to produce ''A Fugue in the Nursery'' and ''Widows and Children First''! in 1979, though she personally found the work "too talky."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=treeol9deZ8C&q=review+a+fugue+in+the+nursery+fierstein&pg=PA89 |title=Nostalgia in Jewish-American Theatre and Film, 1979-2004 |author=Ben Furnish |year=2005 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=9780820461977 |access-date=2018-04-01 |archive-date=June 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607182159/https://books.google.com/books?id=treeol9deZ8C&q=review+a+fugue+in+the+nursery+fierstein&pg=PA89#v=snippet&q=review%20a%20fugue%20in%20the%20nursery%20fierstein&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The Glines, a nonprofit organization dedicated to forwarding gay-themed cultural endeavors, financially supported Fierstein in reworking the three one-act plays as a singular theatrical event, which became ''Torch Song Trilogy'' and earned excited praise from Mel Gussow. "Arnold's story becomes richer as it unfolds," he wrote, saying that Fierstein's performance "[was] an act of compelling virtuosity."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdmJAwAAQBAJ&q=reviews+torch+song+trilogy+la+mama&pg=PA122 |title=The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television |author=Claude J. Summers |year=2005 |publisher=Cleis Press |isbn=9781573442091 |access-date=2018-04-01 |archive-date=June 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607182145/https://books.google.com/books?id=gdmJAwAAQBAJ&q=reviews+torch+song+trilogy+la+mama&pg=PA122#v=snippet&q=reviews%20torch%20song%20trilogy%20la%20mama&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing in [[The Phoenix (newspaper) | The Boston Phoenix]], Don Shewey declared that "the trilogy proves to be a masterpiece — it’s gay theater's gift to American drama."  He observed that the trilogy presents "gay life not as an isolated phenomenon but in constant relation to the society at large, a society whose sexual values have undergone a general upheaval, leaving everyone — gays and straights alike — struggling to learn the new rules."  Shewey concluded by stating that while ''Torch Song Trilogy'' raises many questions, "it doesn’t provide answers — only a model of how to come to terms with our common struggle for self-acceptance and (above all) love."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shewey |first1=Don |title=Theater: Back-room bars to Broadway |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-04-06_11_14/page/n60/mode/1up |access-date=2024-08-13 |work=The Boston Phoenix |date=1982-04-06}}</ref>

Theatre scholar Jordan Schildcrout notes that some critics viewed ''Torch Song Trilogy'' as "the most truly conservative play to come along in years" because of its focus on "fidelity and family" (Jack Kroll), while others declared the play a radical breakthrough because of its forthright depiction of gay sexuality, gay youth, and gay families during an era of political backlash against the [[LGBT rights in the United States|gay rights movement]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays|last=Schildcrout|first=Jordan|publisher=Routledge|year=2019|isbn=978-0367210908|location=New York and London|pages=184–85}}</ref> Today, the play is primarily remembered as a groundbreaking moment for [[LGBT|LGBTQ]] theatre. It is lauded for touching on issues such as [[Same-sex marriage|gay marriage]] and [[LGBT adoption|adoption]] before they were acceptable. In a 2018 review revisiting the play, ''[[PopMatters]]'' writer Elizabeth Woronzoff remarked that ''Torch Song Trilogy'' laid the groundwork for many modern queer television shows such as ''[[Queer as Folk (American TV series)|Queer as Folk]]'', ''[[Modern Family]]'', and ''[[Will & Grace|Will and Grace]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/harvey-fierstein-torch-song-trilogy-2610505054.html|title=Harvey Fierstein's 'Torch Song Trilogy' Resonates Throughout the Decades|date=9 October 2018|website=PopMatters|access-date=11 December 2019|df=mdy-all|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211205727/https://www.popmatters.com/harvey-fierstein-torch-song-trilogy-2610505054.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, the play addressed intersectionality in a newfound way. The inclusion of both the Jewish and queer identities allowed for the representation and (arguably) rejection of the stereotypes associated with each group. According to critic [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] in a critique published in [[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]], the play highlights both the Jewish, melancholic humor and homosexual, flamboyant humor. Still, Simon argues that Fierstein rejects the common stereotypes of both identities and incites the audience to practice "warm empathy" towards every character.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb__uUCAAAAMBAJ|title=New York Magazine|date=1981-12-14|publisher=New York Media, LLC|language=en}}</ref>