THE NORMAL HEART Reviews — Page 4

i have to side with topher about how he was treated here. He is obviously uninformed and inexperienced about theater and its terminology but he had good intentions and appears to want to get into the play more.

One poster in particular comes off as an aggressive snob who apparently sees himself/herself as the personal protector of the play's legacy, the only problem being that the play was never attacked or criticized. Granted, Topher's previous posts were not very clear or articulate, but just because you love the play doesn't mean who should allow yourself to be the "bitch" you described yourself as.

No one attacked the play, no. But certain posters are acting as if it serves as nothing more than a showpiece for Jim Parsons's Broadway debut.

Maybe if you sat in the theatre listening to the sniffling as Bruce tells of the indignities his lover faced because he died of AIDS, seen John Benjamin Hickey visibly decline over the second act and ultimately break down, heard the applause after Ellen Barkin's speech go on and on for a full minute and then came back to repeated posts whining that no one was talking about Jim Parsons and his handful of one-liners, you would understand why people are bothered.

I'm glad that Jim Parsons is on Broadway. Every actor should have that experience. He seems to be truly enjoying himself and he couldn't have picked a better show to be a part of. But this play is so much bigger and more important than just him, and I don't think topher understands or respects that.

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Hahah, if I really wanted to be a bitch, trust me, I would and could be. But I knew that with this "Waaah, y'all are MEAN!" mentality, someone would think I was.

I feel topher does respect that and that he's making a considerable effort to understand.

I am torn between agreeing with you that yes, now he is, and that he's trying way too hard to fake it because he just wants to be able to chat with people who can give him the information he wants. It was a little bit suspect when suddenly after the whiny, narrow-focused tone was pointed out, he was all OH THE PLAY SEE YAY! Like I've said before, I hope that following one actor's career inspires genuine interest. It happens often, and I think it's great. I'm not some kind of keep-it-to-myself elitist. But I don't think it's fair to basically walk in with a tone that mocks others' genuine interests, and that's how it felt. And I was not alone in thinking that.

But certain posters are acting as if it serves as nothing more than a showpiece for Jim Parsons's Broadway debut.

Exactly. It's so much bigger than that, and I think that acting as though that's all that matters about expecting other people to also think that it's of utmost importance and whining when people don't talk enough about him is disrespectful with a play like this. Where people seeing it lived through it. Still are living through it. Etc. That's what bothers me. Bottom line. And I have to wonder if people who don't understand that even know what the play is about or any of the history behind it. Vicious cycle.

Oh, and this is not about television versus Broadway. If the actor deserves to be there, I could care less.

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Updated On: 5/2/11 at 12:48 PM

First of all I am a female. My name is described as being a loyal fan of Topher Grace, a tv star, an actor I worked with in 2000. Secondly, if I didn't care about the play in general or its content and meaning, why would I go and buy the book? Why would I bother if I didn't want or care about the play? Yes, what attracted me to the play was indeed JP but I want to see it because of its brilliance. Now maybe I brought forth too much Jim love but I was not the one that dropped his name recently. I got hounded by Jordan over at the Tony award nods because after seeing Jim's name on there more than once as possible nods, I mentioned (without using his name) that I was happy to see a certain someone in the thoughts of others. Ok, so where did I go wrong there? You want new people to venture out and partake in your world but you can't accept that some people who are more familiar with the tv world would not know much about the broadway world. God, what a **** am I to think that maybe I could actually get some support and understanding for something I wasn't familiar with! God for bid that one single actor turned me to this world to discover but why bother if you are going to be shot down at all costs? Jordan starting having an issue with me because I simply asked about metal detectors in the theater. Damn, what a bitch I am to ask that, huh! FYI, I only asked because in the tv world which I am VERY familiar with, you HAVE to go thru two metal detectors to see the shows live. Wow, for me to think that theaters may have the same type of security! You do what you want but if this is how you treat the new people who want to TRY to understand this scene then many more will follow suit and leave.

If you're a female, why does your BWW profile say you are male?

At least this makes sense now. You were so up in arms about the rumor that Parsons was gay because you want him to be straight. News flash honey, it's not going to happen for you.

@bjh2114 - What difference does it make to any of us, male or female, whether an actor is gay or straight, unless we're homophobes or something (which I trust we're not)?

I really don't want to contribute to this whole somewhat OT discussion, but just couldn't help responding to that rather strange comment.

For the record, I don't care about the fact of it, I cared about (objected to) the discussion being brought up here, because the topic of someone's personal preferences seems far more OT to me than gushing over a specific actor's performance in the play.

Please go see this play.

Please.

Please go see this play.

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Later tonight. Seems like I've been waiting forever.

(And jerusalem this afternoon!)

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I can accept everything you say by way of explanation and will disregard the last two lines and chalk them up to Kramer having got to you.

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"I want them to see it because I want them to know there was a war once.

And we lost. And nobody cared."


Guess it's all in the way one looks at life.

Sometimes the most horrible thing that happens produces the most wonderful unexpected things.

And yep, everyone should see this production.

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I saw this last week and have been raving about to anyone that will listen. I also saw Angels in America, and I know a lot of people have been comparing the two. It may have been because I was sick when I did the Angels marathon, but I think Normal Heart packs more of a punch. I don't think anyone would argue that it's artistically and linguistically more beautiful than Angels, but I think the more stark and realistic (nobody flying around, hallucinating, etc.) text of Normal Heart better illuminates the horrors and the scale of the epidemic.

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