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arts&eatertaiDmeat
tile a. t e r
Heart
I s
Larry Kramer's classic
AIDS play The Normal Heart,
revived in New York 20 years
to the day after its opening,
still cuts deep, A talk with
leading men Raul Esparza
and Billy Warlock
By Michael Giltz
s The ·orm at HeaTt-Larry Kra
mer's dramal;pp ~d from the h ad
lines (or, mol' accurately ripped
from what should hav be n the
headHnes)-dated? AU greaT plays
are universal, but is The Normal Heart
now a period piece?
We'll have to wait another 50 or 100
years before that question can be an
swered because the current revival at
the Public Theater in New York City-opening on April 21, 20 years to the
day and in the very same space where
it debuted-makes abundantl y clear
that The Normal HeaTt is still painful
ly relevant.
The AIDS crisis growing ever more
deadly? A complacent public and a
downright antagonistic government?
Gay marriage and a passionate debate
over whether gay identity is wrapped
up in sex or something more? Younger
THE ADVOCATE I. I MAY 25. 2004 theatergoers might be forgiven for
thinking Kramer wrote this play today,
except for one thing: Its passion is still
singular and rare.
"When I read it, it made me very
angry. It still has that visceral wallop,"
says Raul Esparza, who plays Kra
mer's stand-in, Ned Weeks, and who
has also shone in such Broadway
shows as Taboo, Cabaret, and Tick,
Tick ... Boom!
I
I ,
I
I
I
I
I "When we did the first reading
in this space I couldn't stop cry
ing," says Esparza. "It gives you
chills. There are so many things
the audience will pick up that the
characters don't realize. It is
heavy with dramatic irony right
now, every time you mention gay
marriage. He keeps saying, 'Why
didn't you fight for this?'"
For Billy Warlock-of Bay
watch and General Hospital
fame-the role of Ned's lover,
Felix, is a chance to fight for
broader opportunities as an actor.
"I'm a really simple guy," says
Warlock, who walked away from
General Hospital without any
roles locked in. Eighteen days
later he read for this play, left for
New York, got an apartment, and
started to prepare for his New
York theatrical debut.
"This play takes up every bit
of focus I have," Warlock says.
"It really does. When I really
stop and think about what we're
getting ready to do, it's an over
whelming thing for a guy that's
used to film and TV. This is a
whole other animal."
Warlock is perhaps an instinc
tual actor, while Esparza is a
very verbal and intellectual one.
(He's so well-versed on gay is
sues that Esparza deserves to be
an honorary homo, though he
has been married to a woman
since 1994.) But both he and
Warlock describe Kramer as an
intimidating presence.
"He's intense," laughs Warlock.
"When he looks and talks to
you .. .it's weight. He's the last guy
I would ever want to piss off. n
Esparza agrees.
"He's a very difficult man," says
Esparza admiringly. "He pushes
you. I've really fallen for him, I
have to tell you. His integrity is extraor
dinary. I don't think anybody could live
that burningly honest all the time. I've
been asked by great people that I ad
mire, 'How many men do you know
that have changed the world?' And he's
one of them." •
For David Drake's commentary about
Tfle Normal Hearl, tum to page 68.
tile a. t e r
Heart
I s
Larry Kramer's classic
AIDS play The Normal Heart,
revived in New York 20 years
to the day after its opening,
still cuts deep, A talk with
leading men Raul Esparza
and Billy Warlock
By Michael Giltz
s The ·orm at HeaTt-Larry Kra
mer's dramal;pp ~d from the h ad
lines (or, mol' accurately ripped
from what should hav be n the
headHnes)-dated? AU greaT plays
are universal, but is The Normal Heart
now a period piece?
We'll have to wait another 50 or 100
years before that question can be an
swered because the current revival at
the Public Theater in New York City-opening on April 21, 20 years to the
day and in the very same space where
it debuted-makes abundantl y clear
that The Normal HeaTt is still painful
ly relevant.
The AIDS crisis growing ever more
deadly? A complacent public and a
downright antagonistic government?
Gay marriage and a passionate debate
over whether gay identity is wrapped
up in sex or something more? Younger
THE ADVOCATE I. I MAY 25. 2004 theatergoers might be forgiven for
thinking Kramer wrote this play today,
except for one thing: Its passion is still
singular and rare.
"When I read it, it made me very
angry. It still has that visceral wallop,"
says Raul Esparza, who plays Kra
mer's stand-in, Ned Weeks, and who
has also shone in such Broadway
shows as Taboo, Cabaret, and Tick,
Tick ... Boom!
I
I ,
I
I
I
I
I "When we did the first reading
in this space I couldn't stop cry
ing," says Esparza. "It gives you
chills. There are so many things
the audience will pick up that the
characters don't realize. It is
heavy with dramatic irony right
now, every time you mention gay
marriage. He keeps saying, 'Why
didn't you fight for this?'"
For Billy Warlock-of Bay
watch and General Hospital
fame-the role of Ned's lover,
Felix, is a chance to fight for
broader opportunities as an actor.
"I'm a really simple guy," says
Warlock, who walked away from
General Hospital without any
roles locked in. Eighteen days
later he read for this play, left for
New York, got an apartment, and
started to prepare for his New
York theatrical debut.
"This play takes up every bit
of focus I have," Warlock says.
"It really does. When I really
stop and think about what we're
getting ready to do, it's an over
whelming thing for a guy that's
used to film and TV. This is a
whole other animal."
Warlock is perhaps an instinc
tual actor, while Esparza is a
very verbal and intellectual one.
(He's so well-versed on gay is
sues that Esparza deserves to be
an honorary homo, though he
has been married to a woman
since 1994.) But both he and
Warlock describe Kramer as an
intimidating presence.
"He's intense," laughs Warlock.
"When he looks and talks to
you .. .it's weight. He's the last guy
I would ever want to piss off. n
Esparza agrees.
"He's a very difficult man," says
Esparza admiringly. "He pushes
you. I've really fallen for him, I
have to tell you. His integrity is extraor
dinary. I don't think anybody could live
that burningly honest all the time. I've
been asked by great people that I ad
mire, 'How many men do you know
that have changed the world?' And he's
one of them." •
For David Drake's commentary about
Tfle Normal Hearl, tum to page 68.