Was anyone else at the NORMAL HEART reading tonight?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 11:22pm

God, I love this play. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Every time I read or see it performed, I love it even more.

This was a really beautiful, moving reading. Glenn Close seemed a bit unsure of her character at times, but when she gave her all (particularly her Act 2 monologue), she floored me. The cast was uniformly wonderful, without a weak link among them. And they were led by Joe Mantello who gave a heartbreaking, brave, and truly phenomenal performance as Ned Weeks. I only imagine how astonishing he would have been in a full production.

I enjoyed this evening very, very much and I hope this play is revived soon! Everyone should read or see this show at least once. Was anyone else there?

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 11:29pm

I was there too and couldn't agree more--Joe Mantello was brilliant.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 11:36pm

I was there. An evening I will never forget.

I rushed out of the theatre to get home (I have to get to work early in the morning) and rushing out with me was a teary red-eyed Jake Gyllenhall. I then ran into a friend so I stook around outside talking with him and found myself soon surrounded by the crowd, and with it other familiar faces. Among them were Tom Schumacher, Roger Rees, and tons of others that I am forgetting.

Not that any of this matters -- but I bring it up because while I was pleased that no paparazzi were present, I was disgusted with the few vultures who were there terrorizing for autographs. All these celebrities are exiting the theater in tears on an emotional high, and here you are pestering for an autograph. Shameful.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 11:42pm

It was a breathtaking production.

I actually do think Mantello was astonishing - considering he had, what, a week to put it together, and he had most of it memorized?

I was particularly surprised by Jack McBrayer, who was a real hoot.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 11:46pm

The final moments were some of the most moving I've seen onstage in years, which is a such a testament to the impeccable writing and the strength of the performances. It was certainly far better than anything I've seen so far onstage this season.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 12:35am

I was there too and want to add to the Mantello love. Having only experienced him through his direction I was truly floored by his performance. Why is this man not acting all the time??? Wish I could have seen his Louis.

This was my first exposure to "The Normal Heart" and was very moved. I can't believe it was written 25 years ago. Other than the fact that we know more about the disease and have better medications, it felt like it could have been written today.

Congrats to the cast and creative team tonight, as well as Friends in Deed and the Actor's Fund for putting on this production. A night I won't soon forget.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 12:50am

I was there as well. Great, great night.

I actually thought Stuhlbarg was a standout and wonderful, even if he was the least convincing gay man ever.

Wilson was a bit wooden/boring/Patrick-Wilson-y until he got to his big scene/monologue and really sold the sh*t out of it.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:03am

I loved Wilson! I always love him but I definitely see how people could find him boring. I find him to be incredibly charismatic for some reason. His monologue was stunning.

Stuhlbarg was great as well, even if I found him to be overacting here and there. Not nothing really detrimental to his overall performance.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:07am

This sounds like a great evening. How was Victor Garber?

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:12am

Garber was very good, but as Ned's brother, he doesn't get a lot of the "big"/memorable scenes/dialogue. He does help sell probably the most moving portion of the play though, towards the end.

[April Saul]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:22am

So glad I went to this! And incredibly, paid $33 with TDF. I expected Glenn Close to blow me away, but while she did have some nice moments, it was really Mantello who was the star here and acted his heart out. Am coming down with a cold and had to decide whether or not to drive 90 miles to see this, but thankfully, I made the right call.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 2:50am

Pissed I passed on this! Also...

"I rushed out of the theatre to get home (I have to get to work early in the morning) and rushing out with me was a teary red-eyed Jake Gyllenhall."



Jake was at Elle’s 17th Annual Women in Hollywood Tribute in LA tonight...

[bundy5000]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 3:10am

I was also there , Joel Grey and Larry Kramer sat right behind me. I was also very teary eyed , I was sitting next to a guy telling me about how his partner died from Aid's . I was one of the vultures stage dooring but I told each cast member that this performance was one if the most emotional roller-coaster show I have ever seen. Each time there was a funny scene a very emotional scene came right after. Joel laughed a lot throughout the show also. Joe montello seemed very nice when I met him. I told him if the Tonys had a variety or special performance category this show would win. I told him he was a man of all trades. Glenn was also very nice. I told her she put so much passion into her character. My aunt went to William and Mary with her too so I talked about that with her too. I saw David Hyde Pierce , Andrea Martin , Carole Kane , and Sutton Foster there as well. This performance seemed like the icing on the cake from all the mediocre shows I have seen recently. If revived , it would be a hit but I would take a small theater approach.

[April Saul]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 9:37am

Had I the time, I would have stage-doored too, mostly to tell them all how much I appreciated the show. And to an earlier poster: I wouldn't have thought of myself as a vulture!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 9:41am

I'm pissed I had to miss this. Was it recorded?

[Q]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 9:53am

I think the vulture comment was in reference to those seeking autographs from celebrity audience members, not cast members.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 10:30am

Aid's? Are you kidding me?

I would have loved to see this...saw the Raul Esparza production and even though I'd read the play on the train down, the final scene completely undid me.

[once a month]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 10:54am

Sorry I missed this one night only event. I had seen the Raul Esparza production on 5-16-04 and was blown away. I recall Larry Kramer being there and angrily commenting about the lack of an audience and it was a damn shame that the production wouldn't even last until Gay Pride weekend.

As much as I'm moved by the subject matter, the powers that be were wise to turn this into an event. April Saul saw it through TDF at an incredible discount so it was far from sold out. There's no way this would make money with a longer run.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 11:08am

Some of the old timers will remember that this play had a very profound impact on me back when The Public revived it. It broke my heart to have to be out of town for this reading. I saw it once before the abrupt closing, and one of my biggest theater wishes has always been to see it again.

I'm glad so many of you were able to experience this, though, and that the performance did the play justice. I was in high school when I saw it, and this is the play that taught me just how much a play is truly capable of. I will remember that night forever, and I hope those of you who were there last night feel the same way.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 11:14am

Once A Month, tickets were upwards of $1,000 for this, as it was a benefit. They wouldn't be charging nearly as much for a regular run.

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 12:12pm

I was there as well. Pretty special night. During the last scene, the sound of crying rippling through the mezzanine was pretty overwhelming.

I'm thrilled I got to see Joe Mantello act! Given that it was a reading AND his first performance in years, he was really dazzling. Maybe he should spend more time on stage. Especially given his last few projects (I had to).

All in all, a wonderful night. Some folks had an easier time of it than others, and sure there were blips here and there, but it's just a really powerful piece, and the audience was there and present and ready to be taken away by it.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 2:05pm

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/a-broadway-welcome-to-normal-heart/?src=twt&twt=nytimesarts

[Broadway Doctor]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 2:57pm

The Doc does The Normal Heart reading.


Is The Normal Heart Too Upsetting To Produce?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 4:52pm

re: the Times blog, if it were to be produced again, I don't even know what I would do with myself. But I think at this point there will be (like BWW's picking up of it; the URL got me all excited for nothing) a lot of unnecessary postulating.

The idea of it being "too upsetting" to produce... I don't know. It's a deeply upsetting (but moving) play, but I think that's sort of a silly idea to make a generalization about. Many plays are "too upsetting" for someone, or some group; you wouldn't put a Holocaust survivor to sit through a production of Cabaret, would you? Or a mother who had lost a child in a theater showing Rabbit Hole, or Next to Normal, for example. But does that mean we shouldn't produce them? Yes, the painful subjects The Normal Heart touches are much more widely prominent directly in and personally to the theater community, I understand that this is slightly different because of the scope of its personal nature to the theater community, but I don't think it's such a simple question. It comes down to a question of why people go to the theater -- and that's not a generically-answerable one.

Someone will undoubtedly decide that I'm dismissing the gravity of the issues in and surrounding The Normal Heart by saying this, but hopefully my previous statements about it have said enough to say that I'm absolutely not. It may well be too upsetting for a lot of people to see. I am not denying that it is undoubtedly very, very difficult for some to watch, if they even do. My point is simply that I don't think you can decide what people, at large, want to feel. Ultimately that's a producer's decision -- would people come to see this? -- so I get that what I'm saying here is kind of rhetorical. It just seemed a silly thing to me, the idea of "too upsetting." Theater has been home to great tragedy since it started, and the people still come.

I also think the argument for the obsolescence of the play is asinine, but that's another fish to fry.

Updated On: 10/19/10 at 04:52 PM