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It's almost impossible to look back on that period and not be shocked by old attitudes about gays. Really,shocked, even me. (Note: I was tremendously lucky to in Los Angeles with accepting parents. I was out to friends and family already - and they were accepting. Kudos to you Mom - I don't say enough how much your words meant to me.)
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Anyway, The Normal Heart is a scream against passivity in the face of death. It is a shout to gay men change our ways. It is an indictment against Koch and Reagan - and the thousands of closeted gay men in the 1980s who cared more about position and power than saving lives of their citizens or friends (respectively). It IS searing.
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It made me cry.
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Even Eddie liked it and didn't think it was too long (which -if a show has an intermission - is high praise indeed). The acting was uniformly great, except where it transcending great to extraordinary. Joe Mantelo as Ned Weeks (Larry Kramer - with a name change) and Ellen Barkin as the polio afflict doctor who railed against the disease early and loudly stand out. Jim Parsons, from the Big Bang theory, was so believable from the get go, you never even remembered the character Sheldon. And Lee Pace, in the thankless role of closted, tentative leader was great in a tough role. He is essentially the bad guy - the fill in for all the gays that couldn't (or Larry Kramer would say - wouldn't) speak out and come out. PS - dreamy! And I don't feel bad saying it- as the reason he was made head of the group was because he was dreamy -the thought being it is easier to attract (gay) flies with (hot) honey.
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As a play - it suffers a little from the time. There are 3 rants that are done as wonderful monologues - and were met to move audiences to action in the early 1980s. They feel a little tacked on now.
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But you exit the theater, you are giving a sheet telling you that the characters, the doctor, Larry's lover, Kim Parsons' character (who opened support and care facilities in 3 more cities), Lee Paces' character - nearly everyone in the show but Larry Kramer and his straight brother - they are all dead now.
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And you realize the show is about NOT staying quiet. It is about NOT giving up. 37 million people have died of AIDS. Most are not gay men. Most are straight people in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean in fact all around the world. Thirty-Seven Million.
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The same as the population of California.
The same as the population of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.
And they are still dying.