Photo Flash: David Cromer in TimeLine Theatre's THE NORMAL HEART, Begin. 10/26

TimeLine Theatre Company continues its 2013-14 season with Larry Kramer's Tony Award-winning The Normal Heart. This first Chicago staging of the landmark play that "blasts you like an open, overstoked furnace" (The New York Times) since the play's 2011 Broadway production is directed by five-time Jeff Award-winning director Nick Bowling, TimeLine's Associate Artistic Director. Check out the just released promotional shots below!

The Normal Heart will run at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago, in a limited engagement November 1 - December 22, 2013 (previews October 26 - 31). Press Opening performance is Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 8 p.m.

The Normal Heart features an all-star Chicago cast led by acclaimed actor and director David Cromer as Ned Weeks, Mary Beth Fisher as Dr. Emma Brookner,Patrick Andrews as Felix Turner and Marc Grapey as Ben Weeks, with Stephen Cone (David/Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor/Ensemble), Joel Gross(Bruce Niles), Nik Kourtis (Donner/Grady/Ensemble),Stephen Rader (Mickey Marcus) and TimeLine Associate Artist Alex Weisman (Tommy Boatwright).

Only TimeLine FlexPass Subscribers enjoy priority access to tickets to The Normal Heart. 4-Admission FlexPass Subscriptions for TimeLine's 2013-14 season are now on sale, priced from $86 to $198. For more information and to purchase, call (773) 281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.

Individual tickets to The Normal Heart will go on sale Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 12 p.m. via the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252 or online viatimelinetheatre.com.

Set at the height of the public and private indifference to the AIDS plague in the early 1980s, The Normal Heart is a searing drama that follows a passionate activist, portrayed in TimeLine's production by Cromer, as he leads the fight to awaken the world to the crisis. Along the way he, and the community he leads into battle, must face the deeply held fears that led so many to remain silent for too long.

"A couple of years ago I made the mistake of presuming that The Normal Heart is a dated play," said Artistic Director PJ Powers. "But then I read it. I was completely knocked out by its political vibrancy and call to action. Larry Kramer has crafted one of the great historical dramas of the 20th Century, brimming with heart, courage and humor. He aims a piercing lens at a pivotal era."

"Nearly 30 years later, the play retains its potency. It has evolved into a searing reminder of how history is shaped by the action-or inaction-of people like you and me," Powers said. "Clear your calendar now-the dynamic trio of Larry Kramer, Nick Bowling and David Cromer, joined by an all-star cast and design team, makes TimeLine's The Normal Heart a theatrical event not to be missed."

The Normal Heart was originally produced Off-Broadway at New York's Public Theater in 1985. It premiered in Chicago at the Next Theatre in 1987, receiving that year's Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Production. In 2011 it premiered on Broadway to remarkable acclaim, receiving the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, as well as Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critic's Circle awards. "Like the best social playwrights, Kramer produces a cross fire of life and death energies that illuminate the many issues and create a fierce and moving human drama," Newsweek wrote about the Broadway production, and AM New York called it "a powerful example of theater at its most direct, passionate and urgent." The Normal Heart is being filmed by director Ryan Murphy, starring Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts, to premiere on HBO in 2014.

Photos by: t. HARRISON HILLMAN

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