The Normal Heart

I also saw this play a couple years ago, to see my fave Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper from «Big Bang Theory»)! His role is more of a minor one (boo), but he’s comedic here and full of energy!
Anyways, I waited about an hour to see him after the show, and was able to get a picture with him and his autograph-​soo worth it! He was super nice: D

educational, enriching, tearjerker. fantastic and highly recommended.

I’ve heard about Larry Kramer’s play for years and how it was a must-​see no matter what production I chose to see. Barbra Streisand was so moved by it that she held onto the movie rights for years until Kramer and she parted ways due to the old stand-​by, «creative differences». I can understand their passion over the material since it represents a seminal moment when the AIDS epidemic was taking hold of New York City in the early 80’s, and out of a combination of fear and contempt, it was being ignored behind a wall of government silence.
The limited-​engagement 2011 production (playing at the Golden Theatre until July 10) is not only a testament to Kramer’s viscerally powerful work, it is one of the most moving productions you are ever likely to see on Broadway. The story follows a group of friends and colleagues who become tightly intertwined by the toll the AIDS virus takes on each other both physically and emotionally. At the center of this maelstrom is writer Ned Weeks, the gay Jewish founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group who alienates those around him with his draining, often pedantic public confrontations.
Nobody else, including his closeted journalist lover Felix Turner, is prepared to face the scrutiny of a judgmental public willing to view the virus as a punishment for their supposedly deviant lifestyles. Their arguments threaten to eradicate their mutual goal of creating the awareness necessary to fight the disease. In their corner with barely concealed anger is the imperturbable Dr. Emma Brookner, who daily faces a never-​ending queue of patients with no hope for survival. Directed with minimal staging by Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, the play soars on the amazing performances of the cast.
Two actors stand out among the ensemble — Joe Mantello who brings the raging heart to Ned in magnitudes that compel with his strident fearlessness, and in her Broadway debut, Ellen Barkin who plays Brookner with abrupt directness culminating in a heart-​wrenching monologue that induced wild applause at the performance I saw. The rest of the cast is almost as stellar — Jim Parsons («The Big Bang Theory») as a Southern outcast providing the play with the little comic relief it offers, Lee Pace («Pushing Daisies») as the conflicted Citibank executive Bruce Niles, Mark Harelik as Ned’s hopelessly straight brother Ben, and John Benjamin Hickey as the weakening Felix.
Just when you think the play will turn into a complete polemic, it becomes enthralling in ways you don’t quite expect. The growing list of victims from the disease — illuminated on the walls of the set — packs the necessary punch, but it’s really Ned’s devastating journey that resonates the most in the soul. And leave it to Kramer to have the last word as a leaflet is handed out after the show that points to how little the epidemic has been curtailed in the intervening years. If you’re in NYC for the next month, by all means, go see this production.