Reviewed by Judy Richter
When Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" opened in New York in
1985, knowledge about AIDS was growing but still sadly lacking. Today, even
though drugs have been found to control it, there still is no real cure, nor is
there a vaccine to prevent it. In the meantime, the worldwide death toll has
grown to more than 30 million, and an estimated 33.3 million people, including
1.3 million Americans, are living with HIV/AIDS. Hence the 2011 Tony-winning
revival seems necessary and timely, as evidenced by the Arena Stage production that has come to San
Francisco's American Conservatory Theater.
Taking
place between July 1981 and May1984 in New York City, the plot focuses on a gay
writer, Ned Weeks (Patrick Breen), who has become aware of a mysterious illness that is
claiming the lives of gay men. When he talks with a doctor, Emma Brookner (Jordan
Baker), who has
been treating men with the illness, she has no answers. She doesn't know what
causes it, let alone how to treat it, cure it or prevent it. However, she suspects
that gay men's sexual activities play a large role in its spread. She tells Ned
(a stand-in for the playwright) to tell gay men to stop having sex.
She
might as well advise telling them to stop breathing. Sexual freedom has become
a way of life, indeed a part of their identity. Still, Ned looks for ways to
help. He and some other gay men form a group intended to provide support and
resources for their afflicted brothers. However, their efforts are thwarted in
several ways.
One
is that government officials, the public health establishment and the
mainstream press are virtually ignoring the epidemic. Ned believes they do so
because gay men are not readily acceptable. He believes that if a similar
crisis were confronting straight people, all sorts of resources would be
unleashed.
Another
problem is that most of the other men in his group are closeted. They fear
losing their jobs if it were known that they're gay. Then there's Ned himself.
He's outspoken, abrasive, confrontational, leading to conflict within the group
and alienating those who could exert some influence to help.
In
the meantime, more men are becoming ill, including Ned's lover, Felix Turner (Matt
McGrath), a
fashion writer for the New York Times. Some of Ned's colleagues relate
wrenching stories about the fate of their friends and loved ones.
When
Berkeley Repertory Theatre presented "The Normal Heart" in June 1986, the
San Francisco Bay Area was still reeling from the crisis. Leaning on canes or a
friend, frail-looking young men with purple lesions (Kaposi's sarcoma) on their
skin could be seen at various public events like plays and the opera. Today,
the revival of that play evokes sad memories of that tragic time. My review of
that production concluded: " 'The Normal Heart' isn't an easy play to
watch. Nevertheless, it's an important play, one that moves its audience and
provokes deep, disturbing thought about a social climate and crisis that could
remain in the forefront for a long time."
Now,
26 years later, the social climate is gradually changing for gays, but AIDS
still remains a significant public health challenge, especially given the high
expense of the drugs used to treat it. Gay marriage, depicted in the play, is
still outlawed in most areas.
This
revival, directed by George C. Wolfe, features a standout cast, led by Breen as the angry Ned
Weeks and featuring Baker as Emma Brookner, the wheelchair-using physician who
contracted polio three months before the introduction of the Salk vaccine.
Besides McGrath as Felix, the cast also features Michael Berresse as Mickey Marcus, Nick Mennell
as Bruce Niles, Bruce
Altman as Ben
Weeks (Ned's straight brother), Sean Dugan as Tommy Boatwright, and Tom
Berklund, Patrick
Alparone and Jon
Levenson in
various minor roles.
The
set is by David Rockwell with costumes by the late Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by David Weiner, music and sound by David Van
Tieghem and
projections by Batwin + Robin Productions. Leah C. Gardiner is the restaging director.
More
than history, "The Normal Heart" is a cogent reminder of the need for
people to be aware of how AIDS is transmitted and to try to prevent contracting
it or spreading it.
In
a letter given to theatergoers after the play and in ACT's "Words on
Plays" publication, the still-crusading, still-angry Kramer has this to
say, among other things: "Please know that all efforts at prevention and
education continue their unending record of abject failure. ... Please know
that this is a plague that need not have happened. Please know that this is a
plague that has been allowed to happen."