Larry Kramer's Normal Heart Opens on Broadway

Larry Kramer's blisteringly politically and highly emotional 1985 play The Normal Heart opened on Broadway last week. This is Kramer's Broadway debut, but considering how old the play technically is it was submitted for awards as a revival and the nominations are already coming in. The play was nominated for five Tony Awards (winners will be announced in June) including Best Revival of a Play, and a number of acting nominations. Lets consider what the play is about, and how the new production fairs...

Joe Mantello

The story follows writer Ned Weeks (Joe Mantello) as he begins to see his friends dying of a mysterious and fairly new disease during the early 1980s known as AIDS. He seeks the advice of Dr. Emma Brookner (Ellen Barkin), one of the few physicians in Manhattan willing to treat patients, who sends Ned on the quest to tell men that the key to stop spreading the disease is for gay men to stop having sex. This is easier said than done for Ned, who instead teams with friends Mickey (Patrick Breen), Tommy (Jim Parsons), and Bruce (Lee Pace) to start an organization to raise money and awareness for research of the disease. As this is occurring Ned is fighting with his brother Ben (Mark Harelik) about finances and reputations; as well as developing a relationship with a style editor named Felix (John Benjamen Hickey) that he meets during the "campaign trail" for publicity and funds.

Joe Mantello & John Benjamen Hickey

Mantello last acted in his Tony nominated turn as Louis Ironson in Tony Kushner's Angels in America. In the intervening two decades he has carved out a celebrated career as a director of Broadway shows such as Wicked, Take Me Out (Tony win, Best Director of a Play),  Assassins (Tony win, Best Director of a Musical), and Love! Valour! Compassion! Here Mantello provides a strong, grounding performance as Ned that finds a fascinating mix of wit, charm, and snark to highlight the many sometimes difficult to understand facets of his character. His primary partner in crime is the equally wonderful Hickey, who provides a nuanced performance that slowly builds with his character's many revelations and twists. It's a painful role, difficult to convey the polar opposites of this man we meet so full of life at the beginning, and whom we leave at the end of the play so lost. If anyone is going to risk making you cry, it's Hickey for his sheer gal and evocative readings of the dialogue.

Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello & Patrick Breen

Pace, Breen, and Parsons have the difficult task of conveying a complex friendship in as few words as possible. Each of these men have created vivid characters that you know, you know who they are as soon as they come through the door and the role they will play here, but still manage to surprise you. Pace in particular stands out of this group as Ned's primary antagonist/accomplice in the organization with a startlingly simple monologue of a gruesome crime. It's hard to hear, the description so horrid, but laid out that you can see every worry line that has now come across his brow from the experience. For those who enjoyed Pace's time on the short-lived Pushing Daisies, you will love him here and be surprised by just how strong a performer he truly is. Parsons handles much of the comedy in the show, a great relief actor that the Big Bang Theory star handles nimbly. Breen, who made a splash on Broadway in Next Fall, is both hysterical and a startling voice of reason to each of the character's at varying moments. Somehow, he manages to strike just the right chord at the right moment where you'll consistently nod your head along to him, even when it seems contradictory to what he's said before.

Ellen Barkin

It's hard to determine whether Barkin's performance is one of the best or worst things to happen to this production. She clearly is unused to live theatre, she is straining to be heard in the large space and does not understand how to convey her body language either throughout most of her performance. This is unfortunate because of how large Dr. Brookner's part is in the show. So you may wonder why she has gotten positive notices, award nominations and the like, and that is because of her eleventh hour turnaround during a monologue towards the end of the show. It is in one single monologue that she manages to get across everything else that got lost in translation about this woman and her beliefs and her regrets. You will spend ten minutes sitting in wonder as to when this woman finally arrived to the game, and she does to great effect.

As directed by Normal Heart alum Joel Grey (who was an early replacement Ned during its first Off-Broadway run) with assistance from George C. Wolfe the show is kept crisp and clean. There is no filler or distracting stage business occurring to deter the audience from focusing on the words, the interplay, the facts, and the message of the show. His use of actors as near set pieces, ghosts and reminders in the background is not to be ignored. There is a reason he has certain people there, saying nothing, but there for the audience to witness their presence.

The Cast of the Normal Heart

A fair warning to anyone who comes to see the show during the run, if there is a man outside the theatre as you exit handing out a flyer, stop and speak to him. The flyer is a letter from Kramer about the story behind his play, what happened to the original cast, and what his hopes are for this production. The man handing out the flyer is Kramer, who is all too pleased to discuss the play with patrons that have experienced his play, and wish to engage him. I was not originally aware of this when I saw the show, and did not get to spend much time with him, for which I'm truly remorseful. It's a poignant work that pulls no punches. A distinct portrait of what exactly AIDS was developing, and how difficult it was for people to accept that it was even real (I'm looking at you Ed Koch).

The play is currently playing at the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street, Manhattan) as a limited engagement through till July 10th. You can get tickets either at the theatre's box office or from www.telecharge.com. Go see this play, hear its message, and be better for it.

All production photos credited to Joan Marcus.