I have now checked another item off my Life To Do List: I have seen a Broadway show! A few weeks back I was fortunate to be able to get tickets to a show I had been interested in for a few months, The Normal Heart. I first became interested in the show itself when I found out one of my favorite actors, Luke Macfarlane was cast in the show.
But as I read about it, I became very interested in seeing it. All told, I am glad I made it my first ever Broadway show. No offense to other shows, I did not want to take the easy road and see Wicked or Rent or Phantom of the Opera as my first show (even though I have loved Phantom for nearly 15 years). I wanted something that meant something to me.
The Normal Heart fit that bill. And even if I don’t agree with writer Larry Kramer’s argument completely for present day AIDS Research, I do believe that the point the play attempts to make is profound, historic and personal.
The story is set in New York City in the early 1980s at the early stages of the AIDS epidemic. At the start of the play there had only been 41 documented deaths.
The show itself was amazing for three reasons.
It had raw emotion. The anger felt by the lead, Ned Weeks, played by Joe Mantello and the doctor leading the charge played by first-time Broadway actress Ellen Barkin could be felt from our seats in the balcony. They yelled. They screamed. They swore. They threw food and milk in anger and frustration. The fact that the events in the play were based on real-life events made the emotion that much more real and impactful.
It shows that times have … and haven’t changed. Back in 1981, no one wanted to talk about AIDS. Not even the leaders of the gay community. The mayor of New York City was not going to touch it. And the Center for Disease Control didn’t want to make a panic even when the death toll continued to climb and climb. Members of the gay community were shown to not want to talk about the disease because they were worried how it might make them look. I reference that because they were worried about a negative label. Times have not changed all that much in some parts of the country.
It is real. I could see it in people’s eyes as we walked, quietly out of the theatre. It, the story, the plight and the emotions meant something to the patrons. My guess is other Broadway shows are great and for the writers they are personal, but those in attendance at this play felt the 1980s. We felt the fear. We felt the anger. For two hours, we were transported there.
Sadly the show has had its run as a few of the actors have television jobs to return to. But in its short run, it has impacted a lot of viewers and brought the issue of AIDS and AIDS research back into mind. And that is definitely a lesson worth learning.
