On July 26, the New York Times published an item announcing the marriage of 66-year-old architect David Webster to Larry Kramer, a 78-year-old author. The bland, pro forma piece noted that the ceremony took place at NYU Langone Medical Center, “where Mr. Kramer was recovering from surgery.” (The wedding date had been set a few weeks before a bowel flare-up required Kramer’s hospitalization.)
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Though rooted in medicine and politics, The Normal Heart is essentially a family drama—a genre that’s been a staple of American theater from O’Neill to Hansberry to August Wilson. That’s what gives it enduring power and relevance. The focus is on Ned’s turbulent, passionate relationships with his partner, Felix; Ned’s straight brother; a female doctor who shares his concern about the mysterious, nameless disease that’s killing members of New York’s gay community; and, most important, the extended “family” of people affected by the emergence of AIDS in the early 80s. This network of friends and lovers has been bonded by a shared lifestyle in which sexual freedom is essential—but now presents dire consequences. Formerly apolitical Ned is galvanized into activism; he and his circle establish a nonprofit support agency, modeled on the real-life Gay Men’s Health Crisis, which Kramer cofounded. But Ned’s intense, in-your-face approach alienates his allies, and he’s expelled from the organization he spearheaded.
The Normal Heart was an off-Broadway hit in 1985 at the Public Theater, where it was mounted by visionary producer Joseph Papp. As Felix, the production featured D.W. Moffett, a member of Chicago’s Remains Theatre. (During the run, Moffett returned to Chicago to re-create an emotionally charged scene from the play in a benefit I coproduced as a fund-raiser for the Biscotto-Miller Fund, which provides direct financial support to Chicago theater artists struggling with catastrophic illness.) The play received its first full local production in 1987, at Evanston’s Next Theatre; Eric Simonson (now an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker) directed, and the superb ensemble cast included the young Scott McPherson, who would go on to acclaim as a playwright with the 1990 hit Marvin’s Room before dying of AIDS in 1992 at the age of 33.
The Normal Heart 11/1-12/22: Wed-Thu 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM Stage 773 1225 W. Belmont 773-281-8463timelinetheatre.com $24-$50
