what does it mean when you don't see yourself reflected in the media? when you don't see people like you on television, in the movies, or onstage. immediate has such power to create or change perceptions of the lgbtq community. not only does it help shape the world's view of the queer community, but it also guides lgbtq people as we form and nurture our own identities. while it can be an isolated experience for someone to question their sexuality or gender identity, where media representation shows them they're not along. at a time when legislative efforts seek to erase their experiences of lgbtq people, the presentation, on stage and screen, helps others understand who we are. we all deserve to have our stories told. this pride month, we want to highlight the incredible work of major talents who have given invisibility and a voice to the lgbtq community on stage and screen. like, transgender actor clyburn cox, a tony award winning creator and star of the tony award winning musical, a strange flu, michael r. jackson and jaquel spivey. advocate and actor wilson cruz, and every jacobs, the queer and indigenous actor plane trails for the next generation of actors. but first, the orgy of eight lgbtq trail blazers, harvey fire stain, he's been telling stories on stage for more than 30 years in his memoir. he describes himself as a kid putting up makeup for halloween. but when he thought he could not fit in with his friends, he smeared the lipstick and mascara and said he was a monster. a zombie. in many ways, harvey and his life and stories about and smearing that boys face and just being himself. >> harvey? >> yes. >> what i loved about your book, i was better last night, a memoir, was following your journey from dreamer to broadway. now, you're the og. you are the og. did you ever think you would be harvey and have the impact on stage and screen that you do right now? >> i did not. i still don't understand how that happened. most members about people and children start out with, i saw something on stage and set something -- sunday that's going to be me. that was not me. i never wanted to be a writer or actor. i wanted to be an artist of some kind, but i did not know what. but life does some really funny things if you just say yes to opportunities when they come along, and that's the way sort of work to my life. i just said yes when it seemed sort of inciting. all of a sudden i was in this world of what we call off off broadway. art world. when i'm with theater and art. it's the same. gay people everywhere. i did not know that gay people were supposed to be unhappy until i started watching movies -- my whole idea was why are people making fun -- i knew the bad words, but i didn't realize they actually meant something until later in life. then i said, this is not right. this next generation right now is challenging us in ways that frightened me, but i find it very exciting. with gender, they were asking questions about gender. which is a man? it is a woman? what is the physicality? what are we born with? i think it's very exciting? scary. but exciting. >> let me push you on that. is it really scary? as you write in your book, you struggled with your own gender identity. when you were growing up, long before these pioneering kids today. is it as frightening as you say it is? >> remind generation or for me i don't even think in terms of gender. i did think in terms of gender, but i did not know there was a possibility of playing with that. the only thing i knew is when i watched gone with the wind. i thought clark gable was awfully cute. i did not want to be vivian. that a museum -- immediately stamped the almost sexual -- now we seem to be able to ask both those questions. >> when you are coming up, the big thing that came up as a point of activism was the aids epidemic. how did the epidemic impact not just you personally, but your art. your place. your work? >> we were invisible. this is a line almost exactly from my play. no one knew who we were. we were the great invisible underground. we could slip and slide in heterosexual society. they had no idea. aides came along, and all of a sudden we were in hospitals. we were priests. we were teachers. we were doctors, lawyers, mothers, fathers. all of a sudden we were identified. they saw us everywhere. we could no longer hide. we had so few people fighting on our side. i still say you need to know who your friends are. i said to you before we sat down here, that one of my goals at the moment -- when i was a kid michael was to make life safe for me and my kind. my role now is to make life unsafe for the people against us. you want to come against me? that should be against the law. you want to be prejudiced and you want to fire me for my job. you want to throw me out of my home and all that? you should suffer for that. so, that's part of the next -- >> i want to talk about the trilogy. through wilson crews. because i talked with nelson cruz. i asked him what was the best pieced of advice you've gotten from an lgbtq elder? he told me the story of ear him running into you in west hollywood, introducing himself. you said to him, i know exactly who you are here, and you embracing him, right in the middle of, i think it was santa monica boulevard. as he told me this, he started tearing up. because for him to have the great harvey fierstein, to know who he is, was overwhelming. but for him -- he said he knows all the lines by heart. particularly the big scene between you and your mother. why do you think that that scene, but also torch song resonated so well with the community? >> a lot of times, they had it when rioters right. they edited for the audience and say what will my audience think of this or that? i was too young to do that. i was young and foolish. i wrote what was coming out of my heart and did not edited that way. >> we are doing this interview on your 70th birthday. >> i know! i only look 74. >> as an out gay man, what would you say to ten-year-old harvey, who at that time was trying to understand what is going on here? >> i think every gay child has gone through a psychological testing of their own that no straight child evidence. they do the math. this is where i fit in the family. okay. every gay child has to go through that over and over until they finally accept who they are. i wouldn't steal that from anyone. i wouldn't say let me do the short cut. now that you are officially and elder, a wet piece of advice would you give other lgbtq people for how to navigate life so that they could get to elder status? >> i think we always have to listen to the youth. i think young people have to listen to their own hearts. >> harvey fierstein the great. the great harvey fierstein, thank you so much for being here. >> happy pride. >> happy pride. >> still ahead on pride of stage and screen, laverne cox, the first transgender person nominated for an emmy award and an acting category. she is not getting her own barbie. my conversation with east laverne cox, next. laverne cox, next. my [submarine rising out of water] laverne cox, next. 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(vo) for every customer. current, new, everyone. to show the love. hi, i'm denise. i've lost over 22 pounds with goloave a phone? in six months and i've kept it off for over a year. i was skeptical about golo in the beginning because i've tried so many different types of diet products before. i've tried detox, i've tried teas, i've tried all different types of pills, so i was skeptical about anything working because it never did. but look what golo has done. look what it has done. i'm in a size 4 pair of pants. go golo. luverne cox has had a lot of (soft music) firsts in her career, she was the first out transgender person to be nominated for an emmy award in her role as -- she was the first trans person to grace they cover of time magazine. and now, laverne cox it's the first trans person to have her own barbie. through it, all she's ever minded of the various areas help to break, especially today, as the rights of the trans community are under relentless attack. laverne cox, thank you so much for being here. >> i am so excited to be here. >> eight years ago this month, you made history. you are the first out transgender person on the cover of time magazine. i remember that because i wrote a column about it because it was huge. it was historic. you are making history again this year because you have a barbie? >> yes! -- they reached out about a year and a half ago and said, we would love to create a laverne cox barbie as part of our tribute collection. and i said, yes! >> barbie is so rooted in americana. like, baseball, mom, apple pie, barbie. and there is one of you. can you talk -- personally, what does it mean to you as an out transgender woman to have that kind of representation out there? >> it's so exciting for me. for lgbtq plus people of all ages, hopefully it can be a moment for them to heal and re-parent their inner child. i think so many of us were denied things because and they weren't appropriate, allegedly, for the gender we were assigned at birth. and all of that is melting away and whoever wants to play with barbie or can or whatever, it shouldn't be coated based on gender. >> and yet, we're living at a time when there are legislatures that are trying to prevent children from being who they are, let alone loving who they want to love. your reaction to these anti-lgbtq bills in state legislatures that are targeting trans kids? >> it's devastating. it's devastating for me as a trans person. it's devastating as a person who has traveled the country and met trans kids. when i was doing my speaking tour, i met a family. they brought her nine-year-old trans good to see me. and they said, we drove nine hours so that our daughter could see a positive trans representation. it's insane! i think what is important to understand about this moment is that i don't think these lawmakers are all of a sudden carrying about girl sports. it's not like, oh my god! we have to protect girl sports. let's -- i think trans people are being used as a political football. a lot of people still don't understand and fully comprehend the humanity of trans people. and so, we're being used as a political football by mostly conservative politicians. but the unfortunate thing is that these policies have real life ramifications for trans youth and their parents. it's disgusting. it's angering. and the hopeful thing i will say to parents and to youth is that we have had hard times before. our existence has been criminalized before. and we created spaces and chosen family and we found ways to survive. what we know is that trans people, even before we had the access we have now, have always found ways to have gender affirming care. the question is, will that care be safe and with a doctor or will it be on the black market? >> one of my favorite roles of yours was in inventing anna. what was special about your casting as -- >> what was special -- i mean, shonda rhimes, first of all, is the creator of the show and getting to work with her and shawn de land is an incredible honor. working with her is just awesome. shonda had the vision of meat plant casey. she is a real life person. she is living and breathing. she 67 years old. shs a personal trainer and a life coach. shonda got the idea of me playing her and metadata casey and casey said, great idea. and she came to me and i thought it was a great idea to. i've been cast in things that were not written for trans actors before, which is wonderful. but because casey is a real person, who is definitely not trans, i've always wondered, when i play a character as a black actor, the character becomes black. and i've wondered if the character becomes trans because i'm openly trans. and casey is not trends. it was lovely about it is that it wasn't about trans or not. it was about the qualities that i have as an artist that lend themselves to portraying this woman in an authentic way. >> i'm wondering. if you could go back and talk to ten year old laverne cox, what would you tell your ten-year-old self? >> oh, i feel like i was such a mass. i was such a mess in that i had so much shame. by that time, i had already been through the conversion therapy attempt in third grade. and i was very bullied. i was chased home from school every day. kids made front of me. i've been beaten up many times for being a very feminine child. and shamed and there was internalized shame because i was religious. this shame and trauma of being bullied and being femme and feminine. and there's also this kid who made all ace and was very good at standing up and speaking. and was encouraged to do that. and i had many trophies. so, there's this kid who was in a lot of pain and trauma, but a kid who also had big dreams. and those dreams saved her. so, i would tell a ten year old luverne, you are doing exactly what you need to do to prepare you and everything that is happening to you is happening for a reason because without a test, there is no testimony. all of those things become a powerful testimony for me as an adult now. hopefully, for all the kids out there who are being bullied. all the kids out there who are being misunderstood to know that they are not alone and that i went through the same thing and i have come out on the other side. thriving. not just surviving, but truly thriving and truly living my dream. living the american dream. i hope that kids out there of all ages will know that you can come through pain and trauma and make it to the other side and heal and also live your wildest dreams. >> my thanks to laverne cox. up next, a strange loop is the new tony award winning musical putting blackness and queerness center stage. i will talk to its star, jaquel spivey, and the shows creator, michael r. jackson, next. , >> tech: when you have auto glass damage, trust safelite. ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> tech: ...we can replace your windshield and recalibrate your advanced safety system. >> dad: looks great. thanks. >> tech: stay safe with safelite. schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. welcome to your world. your why. what drives you? what do you want to leave behind? what do you want to give back? what do you want to be remembered for? that's your why. it's your purpose, and we will work with you every step of the way to achieve it. at pnc private bank, we'll help you take care of the how. so tell us - what's your why? ♪♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's officially the best on broadway. a strange loop which took home the tony awards for best musical and best book of a musical. it's about a black queer writer who's writing a play about a black queer writer, who's writing about a playable, well, you get the idea. the strange loop. tony award winning playwright, michael r. jackson and -- have created a movement -- race and how to live your truth. >> michael and jaquel spivey, thank you for being here. michael, i'm going to start with you. a strange loop is your baby. it's your play. it won the pulitzer prize in 2020, and now it's on broadway. the tagline is big, black, and queer as american musical. why did you set out to create that kind of musical? >> because i felt unseen, unheard and misunderstood in the world. and how he sort of made sense of my place in the world is through writing. i wanted to represent something that fully sort of capture it as much as i could the feeling of what it felt like avoided fell to be big, black, queer and alienated. >> part of the power of sitting in the audience from your debut was sitting in the power of the knowledge that broadway has literally never seen anyone like you before. out, gay black man, overweight black man. in a leading role. talk about what that meant free? >> it's a blessing. it's a blessing to be part of such a historic show. but i think more in the show, the material itself. it's easy to throw fat black person and say be funny. make them laugh. you know? history has proven that we can do that. i can make you laugh. i can do a little dance, a little song, entertain you. but with this one, no, this is a person. this is a human. not everything is funny. not everything is jokes. sometimes i want to be serious, because i want to be taken seriously. and like, it's a dream to have somebody living in this body, to go on stage and play a character that is real enough to be respected -- >> i want to pick up on something, michael that jaquel spivey was just talking about. in playing the fat black man that makes you laugh and then go home, that's not what happens in a strange loop. watching the musical. the word that kept coming to mind was subversive. when i'm watching here is probably the most subversive bit of theater i have seen, perhaps in my entire life. from the music to the dialogue. to what was happening onstage. is that when you set out to do to not only create a big black queer ass american musical, but a subversive musical? >> i think for me, the word that kept coming out for me, was real. i think that there is something subversive about that, because so much of which we often see, particularly when you throw in queer characters, it's something that is more comical, one dimensional. not really plumbing the depths of somebody and that experience and what they feel in real life. i really just wanted to set out to make something that felt real, because in all the representations i'd ever seen, in theater, television, film, it just never quite got to the place where i lived. i just had to get that out. what is it -- what is it like to be me in a sense? and hopefully, that that would connect with other people. >> jaquel, you just graduated college last year. you've m