Parallels can be drawn between the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and the current pandemic, but “The Normal Heart” capitalizes on these differences. The timeliness of the show should also not go unnoticed. There is also a timeline of the entire epidemic, starting with the first recorded case in 1959 and stretching all the way to the present day. A large “Silence = Death” poster hangs from the second level, and the wall from the box office to the Tedford stage doors is covered with articles and graphics. The lobby of the Lower Scales building is filled with posters of celebrities who either were affected by HIV/AIDS or are current advocates for those with the disease. One of the main objectives of the play is to educate, and the cast and crew were able to do so off the stage, too. Almost an entire generation of gay men was wiped out, and it’s not talked about, it is not discussed. We don’t learn about this struggle - it is a massive part of American history that just gets overlooked.

“We are not taught that when we learn about the ’80s and the Cold War. “We don’t really learn about ,” senior RJ Pratt, who plays Mickey Marcus, said. Many of Franke’s castmates expressed similar sentiments about the importance of performing this story now. “It’s also angry and it’s a fight call to stand up and to be seen for the fight to just have your voice heard.” “ is not all the way sad even though it is about a very specific historical moment,” senior Abigail Franke, who plays Dr. But, the entire play is far from a screaming match. The conflicts within the organization’s leadership lead to many intense moments as the characters consider the best ways to address the epidemic, experiences with the disease and their shared identity. The play follows Ned Weeks, the character based on Kramer, and the many men involved with the formation of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a foundation created to fight AIDS and fund research in the absence of the government’s involvement. Written by Larry Kramer in 1985, “The Normal Heart” tells the autobiographical story of the early years of the epidemic, exploring the feelings of confusion, anger and rage experienced by him and his friends. Patients with the disease were overlooked and ignored because of AIDS’s early association with gay men. In the beginning, there was no expeditious vaccine rollout or around-the-clock research being conducted. People across the globe have been living with HIV/AIDS and dying from complications of the disease for the last 40 years. Although the prevalence of AIDS is no longer at the height that it was in the 1980s, the crisis is far from over.

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