The story of a city in denial, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller -- as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. First produced by Joseph Papp at New York's Public Theater, the play was a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. So ahead of its time was this play that many of the core issues it addresses - including gay marriage, the healthcare system and, of course, AIDS - are just as relevant today as they were when it first premiered.
The faultless ensemble includes an impeccable John Benjamin Hickey as the first man to break through Ned’s defenses and Ellen Barkin as an early AIDS doctor, who brings down the house with a frustrated tirade about the slow official response to the epidemic. Pace commands tears with a superb account of the death of his lover, a passage that holds its own against the most gruesome messenger monologues of Greek tragedy. Jim Parsons provides exemplary comic relief and unexpected depth as a Southern activist in Ned’s group, and Patrick Breen, Mark Harelik, Luke Macfarlane, Richard Topol and Wayne Alan Wilcox offer admirable support. The entire company acts up a storm, and the production leaves you drenched. The Normal Heart is hectoring, stiff and one-sided; it is also raw, scary and galvanizing. That’s Kramer in a nutshell, and his kind of nuts we still need.
Larry Kramer's seminal AIDS drama 'The Normal Heart' is the kind of show that hits you like a jackhammer. Twenty-five years since it premiered at the Public Theater, it remains a powerful example of political theater at its most direct, passionate and urgent levels. Mantello captures Weeks' confrontational, occasionally hysterical spirit but combines it with easygoing charisma and convincing emotion. He is joined by an outstanding ensemble cast.
1985 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2004 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2011 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2012 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Direction of a Play | George C. Wolfe |
2011 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Joel Grey |
2011 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Jim Parsons |
2011 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Play | The Normal Heart |
2011 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | George C. Wolfe |
2011 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Joel Grey |
2011 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Performance Special Awards | The Normal Heart |
2011 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | 0 |
2011 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Special Citations | 0 |
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Joe Mantello |
2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | 0 |
2011 | The Hewes Awards | Hewes Design Award | Batwin & Robin Productions, Inc. |
2011 | The Hewes Awards | Hewes Design Award | David Rockwell |
2011 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Ellen Barkin |
2011 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Jim Parsons |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | George C. Wolfe |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Joel Grey |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | John Benjamin Hickey |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Joe Mantello |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Ellen Barkin |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jayne Baron Sherman/Alexander Fraser |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Gregory Rae |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Martian Entertainment |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Paul Boskind |
2011 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Daryl Roth |
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