An all-star lineup of predominantly LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC artists will appear in a virtual presentation of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart May 8. The event will take place at 8 PM as a benefit for ONE Archives Foundation and Invisible Histories Project, which both honor the legacies of HIV/AIDS activists through education and outreach resources.
The cast includes Tony nominee Jeremy Pope (Ain’t Too Proud), Laverne Cox (Promising Young Woman), Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Jake Borelli (Grey’s Anatomy), Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Guillermo Díaz (Scandal), Ryan O’Connell (Special), Daniel Newman (The Walking Dead), Jay Hayden (Station 19), and Danielle Savre (Station 19).
Station 19 EP Paris Barclay, a longtime TV director who’s helmed episodes of Scandal, Smash, and more, directs the presentation, which will also include a special introduction by Martin Sheen.
The play, in large part autobiographical, chronicles a man's slow response to the AIDS epidemic as he struggles to create support for himself and his illness. After premiering Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 1985, the play returned to the venue in 2004 before making its official Broadway debut in 2011. A film adaptation premiered on HBO in 2014.
Kramer woke many to the very real thread of AIDS through his fierce activism, often at the expense of his relationship with those in the queer community. He died at the age of 84 last May.
For more information, visit OneArchives.org.
