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| L-R Parker Mills and Peter Schiavelli |
By Joe Straw
Global
situation and trends:
Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have been
infected with the HIV virus and about 35 million people have died of HIV.
Globally, 36.7 million [34.0–39.8 million] people were living with HIV at the
end of 2015. An estimated 0.8% [0.7-0.9%] of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide
are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary
considerably between countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa remains most
severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (4.4%) living with HIV and
accounting for nearly 70% of the people living with HIV worldwide. – World
Health Organization
I saw The
Normal Heart at the Las Palmas Theatre in 1985 with Richard Dreyfuss as Ned
Weeks and Kathy Bates as Dr. Emma Brookner, although, sad to say, I remember
very little of her in that performance. But I do remember, at the end of the
first half, the audience let out a huge audible gasp when we discovered
something about a character, the way it was presented, and the way the audience
accepted that information. - Narrator
Every
living breathing human being has a heart and that heart beats from 60 to 100
beats per minute. That is considered normal.
There is a lot of variation in heartbeats – from 60 to 100 beats – and,
as in all lives, extenuating circumstances can affect that normal.
Our reactionary
government abandoned the populace when AIDS emerged and, for an unconscionable
period of time, ignored the “gay plague”.
Reading
about it in the early eighties, it didn’t take a genius (me) to understand that
if it could be transmitted from gay contact it could also be transmitted
through human sexual contact. It was a very costly mistake that eventually
required boots on the ground – a grassroots organization to get the word out
and to have the government take action. This essentially is what The Normal
Heart is about.
The Normal
Heart by Larry Kramer and directed by Marilyn McIntyre is now playing at The
Chromolume Theatre February 24 through March 19, 2017. Produced by Sarah Burhardt
and Parker Mils.
Larry’s
Kramer’s The Normal Heart is a terrific show with exceptional performance by a
superb cast in the tiny black box theatre of The Chromolume. The acting is well above par in this intimate
setting and overall an enjoyable night of theatre. I do have some thoughts that I will share
later.
Kramer,
in his play, sets a tone for political activism, which must be unapologetic and
loud to make a difference. There was a sense of urgency back in the 1980’s of
finding the answers and then finding a cure.
This required a lot of help from politicians and from grass roots
organizations to make it work. To date there is not cure and the disease is
manageable if you can afford the drugs.
On
this particular night, the partial walls on rollers lifted almost to the
ceiling, hiding the unseen, the black walls darkened the proscenium. And on the facade, were the headlines of the
day. July 1981 is the month and the year
in which we are placed.
The stagnant
dividers opened to reveal a doctor’s waiting room, normal patients anticipating
the worse, Craig (Cameron Cowperthwaite) explains what he is feeling, his ragged
body tells the story, the heavy heart weigh down by swollen glands already discovered.
“I’m tired all
the time. I wake up in swimming pools of
sweat.” – Craig
Craig
wails for his companion, Bruce Niles (Alan Lennick), a former Green Beret, who
did not accompany him to this doctor’s appointment. He is waiting for Dr. Emma
Brookner (Carole Weyers), who is examining patients in the next room.
(Brookner
is based on Dr. Linda Laubenstein an early HIV/AIDS researcher. She, along with
Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien, published the first article linking AIDS with Kaposi’s
sarcoma.)
That
patient, now leaving Dr. Brookner’s office has purple lesions covering his
face. David (Eric Bunton) walks over to retrieve his jacket and silently stares
at the three men waiting to go in. He
notices that they are staring at his lesions.
Craig
hugs Mickey Marcus (Ray Barnhart), silently ignores the manifestation in front
of him, and hesitantly walks away and to the examining room.
“They keep
getting bigger and bigger and they don’t go away. (Changing the subject and
directing his focus to Ned) I sold you a ceramic pig once at Maison France on
Bleecker Street. My name is David.” -
David
I
don’t remember them shaking hands, or that an attempt was even made.
Nebbish
Ned Weeks (Parker Mills) who was melting inconspicuously into the furniture is
suddenly called out, pulled out from the chair, from oblivion to prominence,
filled with questions without answers about the 28 gay men infected, 16 who
have already died.
And
as quietly as he arrived, David leaves with little fanfare.
“Mickey, what
the f*uck is going on?” – Ned
“I don’t know.
Are you here to write about this?” - Mickey
Two
writers in the room without focus, Ned who is a successful writer of sorts and
Mickey who writes a health column for the health department, each desultory, no
one making the first move. Mickey says the city doesn’t have an interest in stories
about gay health.
Craig
comes out of the Dr. Emma Brookner’s office and says he going to die.
Ned,
with a slight call to act, rushes into the doctor’s office to ask
questions. He takes little notice that Dr.
Brookner is confined to a wheelchair. She immediately tells him to take off his
clothes.
“You’re gay,
aren’t you? Take your clothes off.” – Dr. Brookner
Doctors!
 |
| Parker Mills and Carole Weyers |
Through
the examination Brookner has an idea she wants to share with Ned. Brookner needs a mouthpiece, someone who will
spread the word, and she understands that Ned has a big mouth, is a writer, and
will somehow get the word out. She explores the possibility of asking Ned to
tell men that they should stop having sex, not only the men in New York City but
also all across the country.
This
call to duty is an insurmountable task for Ned Weeks, and he is not really sure
that he is up for the challenge. He approaches
a writer at the Times, handsome Felix Turner (Peter Schiavelli). Ned also tries to get his brother Ben Weeks
(Dan Via), a lawyer to donate money and to sit on the board. Ben is not up for
the idea, and says he will take it to his committee.
 |
| L - R Alan Lennick, Cameron Cowperthwaite (gurney), Ray Barnhart, Carole Weyers, Parker Mills |
Marilyn McIntyre, the director, does a
terrific job with this very small-scale production. Actors, also scene changers,
were flying in and out during the sixteen scene changes, trying not to bump
into each other to lay out set and prop pieces.
I’m wondering if there is an economical and efficient way of handling those
duties, a way of moving actors in character so that it moves with the
progression of the play. The walls must
also be moved with characters in mind; even the tables can be placed with
characters in various stages of the illness.
The
opening, on this night, requires attention with Ned finally speaking when he is
addressed about the pigs. (About a page and a half in.) Ned needs a better
introduction and how that manifests itself is the job for the director. Ned is a frightened person, assaulted with
realities, and trying to find a way to help.
It is here, in the opening moments, when he steps from the shadows and
into the limelight. One thinks of the
play as a political drama, a reactionary intrusion into a life bombarded by the
unthinkable, so many people dying in a short time span, and a government
unwilling to take action. This is where
Ned comes in, he sees the light of humanity darkened. (Some stage lighting
helping out on the dying would help. A
little symbolism goes a long way here.) From first hand account Ned takes
aggressive action. Maybe he doesn’t
think it’s much but he really must be gung-ho to get this going, not stopping,
even through his survival depends on the help from politicians and his friends,
both who get in his way.
Also,
time is an element that must be accentuated for full dramatic play.
One
other thing, this is a play where even the smallest of relationships must work
to get the full effect having to do with the advancement of the events, David saying
that he is dying, Craig running from the doctor’s office, Felix ignoring Ned,
and Ben unwilling to help until someone reaches their eternal perdition.
On
this night, I detected a slow start, characters not really connecting, but once
the butterflies went away, the production soars, taking us to unconquerable heights. The acting is top notched, a testament to Howard
Fine Acting Studio and the number of actors in this production who have gone
there.
But
again, I have some thoughts.
Parker Mills does fine work as Ned
Weeks. Weeks need a better introduction,
stepping out of the shadows into the limelight. The conflict is that he never
gets the publicity for reasons that are out of his control. He is relegated to being a co-worker of an
organization he co-founds when another is chosen to be president. His life as a writer, and its inexhaustible
privations, moves him in a way to help humanity. But, Weeks is seen as brash
and opinionated and, in his indecorous ferocity, he is a man of action that very
few people like. He must overcome those
obstacles to get what he wants. Mills does a fine job of giving the character
many levels, acting with a sense of urgency because other characters are dying.
Mills is impeccable in his craft; his movements are specific, and his objective
strong. There is more to add in the way
he sees the overall picture, reacts, and then takes action.
Dan Via is Ben Weeks and really does
a fantastic job. Weeks is a powerful
lawyer that wants nothing to do with his brother’s organization and will not
even accept that his brother is gay. Organized, a planner, and one who will not
step into a situation that would jeopardize his career. Via excels in this role, his manner is
competent, his motives are entirely complete, and he knows his way around the
stage.
Alan Lennick, as Bruce Niles, can add more
to the Green Beret character that he plays.
Once a military man, especially one that carries Special Forces Tab,
well, that never leaves you. And how
that manifests itself on stage is something that should be brought forward. Still
it is a terrific performance, his voice is strong, articulate, the broad
shoulders, and the height that carries the day. He regards himself as a leader
but will not step out of the shadows to out himself, and that is an interesting
conflict for someone who wants to represent a gay organization. Niles
relationship to Weeks could be strengthened in the way he rebuffs him and then
tries to take over the organization.
Peter Schiavelli is very angular as Felix
Turner, in the way that Dudley Do-Right was drawn angular. Schiavelli has a
very strong handsome presence on stage and manages to make the most of the
character. What is interesting about this character is that he is hiding
something from his partner until the end of the first half. It is so subtle on stage as to not be noticeable
and maybe should be a part of the character’s internal conflict about becoming
involved.
Carole Weyer is Dr. Emma Brookner and
played this character with an accent, sounding German at times. One is not sure what that was about as the
character is based on someone born and went to school in the United States. It
was a choice that was not entirely successful.
That said, her craft, and her work presented outstanding choices, the
manner in the wheelchair and the way she conducted her examination of the
patients were outstanding.
Jeffrey Masters plays Tommy Boatwright, a
southern belle, as it were. The southern
accent does not take him to unimaginable heights and needs work. That said, he has a very likeable personality
and does well for his limited time on stage.
But, more specifically, he needs to identify the conflict, and work for
a stronger objective.
Ray Barnhart is Mickey Marcus, a man who
will help but will not go beyond his limited means. He doesn’t want to be president of the group
and is satisfied with stuffing envelopes.
He works for the Health Department but is not about to risk his job
writing about the gay plague. Barnhart
requires a stronger choice for his objective and the conflict that keeps him
from reaching his objective. Still, there is something very likeable about this
character and this actor.
Eric Bunton plays three different roles,
David, Hiram, and the doctor. Bunton has
a strong voice and does something very interesting with David, the man with the
lesions, he quietly enters from the doctors and quietly exits as a man who
presents the disease and then quietly exits the world, as he knows it.
Cameron Cowperthwaite (that’s a name) does well as
the sick friend in the first scene, who is a hypochondriac, but turns out that
his fears are not mental. One would love
to see his face as he is writhing on the gurney. It sets the mood and the
action that needs to be taken.
Nicely produced by Sarah Burkhardt and Parker Mills.
Run!
Run! And take an activist. There is more
to learn and much more for which to take action.
Members
of the crew who contributed mightily to the production are as follows:
David
Mauer – Set Design
Brandon
Baruch – Lighting Design
Chris
Moscatiello – Sound Design
Liz
Schroeder – Costume Design
Michael
Skolnick – Props
Brandon
Hearnsberger – Video Editing
Jake
Moses – Original Music
Edward
Vyeda – Original Artwork
Scott
Marshall – Lighting Assistant
Amy
Koch – Stage Manager
Ken
Werther Publicity – Press Representative
Sarah
Burkhardt – Associate Director
Telephone:
800-838-3006
The
Chromolume Theatre at The Attic
5429
W. Washington Boulevard
(Between
the 10 Freeway and Hauser Blvd.)
Los
Angeles, CA 90016
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