Larry Kramer’s seminal play, The Normal Heart, is getting the all-star treatment again. In May, ONE Archives Foundation will host a virtual reading of Kramer’s autobiographical play featuring “a predominately BIPOC and LGBTQ cast,” according to the foundation’s event webpage.
Among the all-star cast are Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, Black Panther); Laverne Cox (Orange Is The New Black, Promising Young Woman); Jeremy Pope (Hollywood, Choir Boy); Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Insatiable): Guillermo Díaz (Scandal, Weeds); Jake Borelli (Grey’s Anatomy, The Thing About Harry); Ryan O’Connell (Special, Will & Grace); Daniel Newman (Walking Dead, Homeland); Jay Hayden (Station 19, The House Bunny); and Danielle Savre (Station 19, Heroes). Martin Sheen will appear to give a special introduction to The Normal Heart virtual reading.
Tapped to direct the event is two-time Emmy award-winning writer/ director/ producer Paris Barclay and the production will focus on the rise of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City during the 1980s. Barclay said of the event to ABC 7 Los Angeles:
“When I was approached by ONE Archives Foundation to direct a virtual reading of “The Normal Heart, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. We’ve assembled an extraordinary cast that makes this particular reading even more timely. And we hope more powerful.”
A little sneak peek of our special #thenormalheart reading….Virtual reading of "The Normal Heart" features an all-star cast https://t.co/Uu76P1xawa via @abc7 @SterlingKBrown @JakeBorelli @DanielNewman @Lavernecox @jayhayden00 @D_SAVRE @guillermodiazyo
— Paris Barclay (@Harparbar) April 2, 2021
The Normal Heart was previously made into a film by HBO in 2014 directed by Ryan Murphy featuring Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons, Jonathan Groff, and Taylor Kitsch and is available to stream on HBO Max.
The virtual reading of The Normal Heart will take place on May 8 at 5 PM PT with tickets, ranging in price from $10-$100, going on sale to the public on April 8 at https://onearchives.org/normalheart. Proceeds from ticket sales will support ONE Archives Foundation’s LGBTQ education initiatives and the Invisible Histories Project.
Sources: The ONE Archives Foundation, ABC 7, HBO, IMDB, Invisible Histories Project
