HBO's "The Normal Heart": Your Thoughts- Page 5

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 3:54pm

I cried more at the revival than I did at the original play. I think it was because in the mid 80s, everyone was used to the sadness, the fear, the dread. We were all living it at the time...it wasn't a play about a past event.

I worked for years with AIDS patients from the mid 80s through the mid 90s. One of my close friends who worked with me at the time emailed me this weekend after watching the film....we've been reminiscing about our colleagues, the patients, etc...what our lives were like back then.

I have not watched the film yet as we were away for the weekend. I'll see it this weekend, and am kind of dreading it.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 3:55pm

But the material is visceral and, I think, loses something when it is not seen live.

This. ^


It was a good adaptation but as a fan of the stage version, it doesn't hold a candle to seeing the material live and in a top notch production, as the last revival was. That was one of my favorite theatergoing experiences of all time. I wish I loved the movie as much. I liked it, and loved parts, but I wasn't as knocked out by it as I hoped to be.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:00pm

Mainly I just want to know if this was one of the first to address AIDS like that...I can't remember if Torch Song Trilogy did?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:05pm

Actually, The Normal Heart opened at the Public in late April of '85 just as gay and AIDS-themed stories WERE starting to make inroads in the cultural landscape. One week after TNH opened at the Public, AS IS premiered on Broadway to some acclaim, and lasted into early '86. The TV movie AN EARLY FROST was shown on NBC in '85. PARTING GLANCES was in movie theaters in '86.

Living in the West Village throughout the 80's, where I was surrounded by news every time I opened the paper regarding the plague, I can only imagine how different it must have been in the rest of the country outside the gay ghettos. But for us, every issue of the New York Native was immediately parsed for new CDC findings, new miracle cures, new memorials. The battle depicted in TNH between the pro-sex and anti-sex factions of the gay community (to put it in unspeakably simplistic terms), was one we were all arguing with our friends and lovers on a daily basis.



Updated On: 5/27/14 at 04:05 PM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:08pm

Definitely one of the first, if not the first.
Torch Song was written and takes place before AIDS.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:12pm

Thank you for sharing.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:22pm

In 1985, just before The Normal Heart opened at the Public, a play called As Is by William Hoffman opened at the Circle Repertory Company on 7th Avenue South. It moved to Broadway, where it played for 285 performances.

As Is opened at the Circle Rep on March 10, and Normal Heart opened at the Public on April 21. Mostly because of Larry's continued activism, The Normal Heart emerged as THE play about the early years of the AIDS crisis.



During the Broadway run of As Is, $1.00 of every full priced ticket was put into a fund, which was then divided and donated to the three major AIDS groups in New York City at the time. In this photo, taken front of the Lyceum Theatre, producer John Glines is handing a check to Matilde Krim, head of AmFar). Behind her is Robert Morgan, head of the AIDS Resource Center and beside him is Rodger McFarland, then head of the Gay Men's Health Crisis.






Torch Song Trilogy, however, was basically pre-AIDS.

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 04:22 PM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:28pm

For the record, 'As Is,' William M. Hoffman's AIDS drama about friends in New York, opened March 10 at Circle Rep. It then debuted May 1 on Broadway, where it became the first AIDS drama on the Great White Way. It got 3 Tony nominations, including Best Play.

'The Normal Heart' opened April 21, 1985 at the Public. It's gotten 2 major revivals: one at the Public in 2004; the other with Joe Mantello on Broadway in 2011 and it got 5 Tony nominations, winning for Best Play Revival. Much has been written about 'Normal Heart,' but 'As Is' is part of AIDS history, too, and shouldn't be forgotten.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:56pm

And on a slightly unrelated note, my new crush is the guy that played Bella!

[CurtainsUpat8]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 4:57pm

I thought Andre's Mother by Terrance McNally was a very elegant statement about AIDS and being Gay.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:02pm

This discussion and film remind me of the Ashman/Menken song written in the Spring of 83.
Sheridan Square

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:07pm

That's beautiful. Thank you.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:11pm

Is this considered good ratings?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/HBOs-THE-NORMAL-HEART-Premieres-to-14-Million-Viewers-20140527#.U4T_M3atyOA

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:27pm

Wow, I had never heard that song before! I am crying all over again!

[Luscious]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:33pm

Those who haven't seen it might also want to check out AND THE BAND PLAYED ON. A 1993 HBO movie about the first years of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it, adapted from the book of the same name by Randy Shilts. It's available on HBO GO.

I was actually moved more by AND THE BAND PLAYED ON. Maybe because it was one of the first movies to honestly and directly address the subject matter. I'd hate to think that I've become desensitized to the material, but, although there was much to admire, the film version of THE NORMAL HEART just didn't have the same emotional impact for me.

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 05:33 PM

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:49pm

I watched the film last evening with my boyfriend. I found all the performances very moving, and gripping. Particularly Jim Parsons who I thought was suburb.

I also paid close attention to Murphy’s direction, as in the past I’ve not been crazy about some of the things he’s done. I felt this is one of the few opportunities he had left to “put up or shut up” as it were. I’m not really sure what I think of his direction yet, I have to think about it more, I’m not sure if I can get through it again, but I’ll try in effort to make some more astute observations. I will say, I appreciated that he seemed to “get out of the play’s way” in order for the film to take you where you needed to go.

I am of the younger generation here who never got to see the play on Broadway or elsewhere, so I don’t have much to compare it to, and as others have said, its not really fair to compare a live theatre production to its subsequent film adaptation. They are two different animals, and the film version will never add up to the visceral experience of seeing something live. Theatre is still the best thing we have. I firmly believe that.

To those who shared such personal and enlightening stories- PalJoey, Jane2, jayinchelsea, MartyO49, doodlenyc, CurtainsUpat8, Someone in a Tree2, (hope I didn’t leave anyone out) Thank you. As The Normal Heart touches on, they don’t teach us this history. Even at the university level, things are still very carefully tiptoed around (even with the tons of theatre classes I have taken, this play gets avoided, I think a lot of people are afraid of it). Your stories need to be told and heard by the younger generation.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 5:57pm

That song says so much and Howard wrote it years before his diagnosis. There was a fantastic piece on him in VICE last winter.
BEAUTY AND THE PLAGUE

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 7:28pm

Thank-you Fine. A good read. Sadly there are just too many stories like this. Talented people cut down in their prime while those in power, who could actually do something turned away!

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 8:13pm

I found the 2011 production to be more powerful, but like others have said, I think part of that was the collective experience of being in a theater with other people who showed emotions all over the place.

The movie did a very, very respectful job on the story. Matt Bomer surprised me and I was pleased to see Jim Parsons repeat his amazing portrayal of Tommy. I was happy to see Joe Mantello give another passionate performance, even though I preferred his Ned. The Estelle scene just broke my heart...

Every time I think about this play and the reality attached to it, my heart breaks. Like it has been said, it's alarming to think of who the world lost and what we never even saw. We lost a generation of writers, artists, dancers, actors, musicians, and beautiful minds at their prime.

Your stories are appreciated and treasured. Honesty hurts, but it allows us to remember, learn, and not forget.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 8:21pm

Linda Laubenstein was the real life person behind the character of Dr. Emma Bruckner (as played by Julia Roberts). What an amazing person!






Real Life Dr. Emma Bruckner

Updated On: 5/27/14 at 08:21 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 8:46pm

To once gain raise the querey: Where is the NYC Memorial? 30 years too short of time?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 9:51pm

Playbill.com has an excellent dialogue between two generations of viewers.



A Normal Heart Viewing Party: Two Generations of Gay Men Watch the Past Turn Into the Future on HBO

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 11:22pm

Speaking of AIDS songs, one of the most beautiful ones is 'Yard Sale.' It's by Tom Andersen, who's earned acclaim from Stephen Sondheim and Betty Buckley. His song is about a moving encounter he had in the early days of AIDS in San Francisco. In the link below, he's accompanied by Seth Rudetsky, who raves: 'It's so well-written and makes me cry as I play it.' Andersen also organized one of the first AIDS benefits in the Bay Area.
Tom Andersen sings 'Yard Sale' at Broadway Cares benefit concert

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 11:36pm

I was actually moved more by AND THE BAND PLAYED ON. Maybe because it was one of the first movies to honestly and directly address the subject matter

I read the book and loved it. It really put The Normal Heart into context for me.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/27/14 at 11:42pm

So beautiful and touching.