THEATRE: Golden Theatre, New York
DATE: May 18, 2011
TIME: 19:30
WITH: Joe Mantello, John Benjamin Hickey, Ellen Barkin, Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, Patrick Breen, Mark Harelik, & Luke MacFarlane
DIRECTOR: George C. Wolfe & Joel Grey
Larry Kramer’s semi-autobiographical “The Normal Heart” deals with the AIDS crises during the 80s in New York. It originally premiered at the Public Theater on April 22, 1985, where it became its longest running production. Joe Papp, founder of the Public, said about it: ““Once in every ten years or so, a play comes along that fulfills my original idea of what role theater must play in society.” This past season “The Normal Heart” - the title is taken from a poem by W.H. Auden - finally received an extraordinary Broadway production by George C. Wolfe (former artistic director of the Public) and Oscar-winning actor Joel Grey (Cabaret). It brilliantly mixes the public and the private and exposes a time of great fear, ignorance and community.
Writer Ned Weeks, powerfully portrayed by Tony nominee Joe Mantello (better known as director of productions like Take Me Out and Wicked), is the founder of an AIDS-crises organization. He vigorously and stridently takes on the government, the city, medical establishment, the press and gay community itself, to draw attention to and find a cure for AIDS. Ned's confrontational character, however, antagonizes a lot of people and he is eventually kicked out of his own organization.
Joe Mantello as Ned Weeks
The play also deals succinctly with Ned’s personal life: the complicated relationship with his heterosexual brother (Mark Harelik) and most powerfully, his relationship with Felix (John Benjamin Hickey), a closeted fashion reporter for the New York Times. During their combative, but loving, relationship Felix is diagnosed with AIDS and eventually dies. Mantello and Hickey (winner of this year’s Tony for Best Supporting Actor) beautifully portray this love story, and the tragic end really packs a punch.
Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey as Felix
Kramer vividly captures the age of fear in the public and private sphere. And although it is clear which side the playwright is on the play is much more nuanced than a political pamphlet. This quality can also be attributed to the astounding cast assembled for this production. They are an ensemble in every sense of the word. Mantello, Hickey (The Big C), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Luke McFarlane (Brothers and Sisters), Patrick Breen (Next Fall) and Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) thrillingly portray a great variety of gay men - warts and all - who come together because of the AIDS crises. All their strong performances are dynamically staged against an impressive minimalist set by David Rockwell, which consists mainly out of white walls on which headlines and names of AIDS victims are projected.
Photos by Joan Marcus
The acting is so strong that during the second act two monologues even receive applause, something I have never experienced before in a play. The first one is by film star Ellen Barkin - in a stunning and Tony-winning Broadway debut – when her paraplegic doctor Emma Brooker rails against the medical establishment, and the second one is delivered by Mantello’s Ned. It starts out with “I come from a culture by…” As he lists the great accomplishments by gay men throughtout the years he instills a gay pride in the audience and argues that gay identity is much more than sexual. It is a moving, empowering and theatrically thrilling moment that is so powerful that it needs the release of applause.
An unforgettable Ellen Barkin as Dr. Emma Brooker
A beautiful love story: Mantello & Hickey
Although a lot has changed concerning AIDS (in the West) since the 80s the play has not dated at all. Its power and impact can clearly be detected throughout the audience, whether in cries of outrage or collective sobs. The play is rumored to receive a London transfer and a movie adaptation, but I cannot imagine a more powerful production than this one. It greatly deserved its Tony for Best Revival of a Play and bless Larry Kramer for writing such a powerful and important play. I feel very privileged to have experienced it.
Jim Parsons & Lee Pace
Luke MacFarlane, Parsons & Patrick Breen working the phones
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