THE NORMAL HEART
NOW CLOSED
Larry Kramer’s landmark play about love and loss in the 1980s chronicles the rise of the AIDS crisis in New York City, seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks as he battles against a world unwilling to confront the epidemic.
The Normal Heart‘s call to arms caught audiences by storm when it was first performed in 1985. It became the longest-running play in the history of New York’s Public Theater, and is widely considered to be one of the most significant plays of the 20th century.
Today, this document of recent history is as relevant and powerful as it ever was – a reminder that battles for justice, equality and dignity are not just things of the past. Letter from Larry Kramer
Studio 180 was pleased to work in association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre once again, seven years after partnering to bring Toronto audiences our acclaimed production of The Laramie Project.
INTERVIEW
In the following interview from Xtra.ca, Alistair Newton talks to director Joel Greenberg and actor Ryan Kelly about the play and playwright Larry Kramer. Includes exclusive rehearsal video shot by Xtra.ca.
THE NORMAL HEART was presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
BY Larry Kramer
DIRECTED BY Joel Greenberg
FEATURING John Bourgeois, Mark Crawford, Paul Essiembre, Ryan Kelly, Mark McGrinder, Jeff Miller, Sarah Orenstein, Jonathan Seinen & Jonathan Wilson
SCENERY & COSTUME DESIGN John Thompson
LIGHTING DESIGN Kimberly Purtell
SOUND DESIGN Verne Good
STAGE MANAGER Robert Harding
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Sarah Bustard
APPRENTICE STAGE MANAGER Suzanne McArthur
PRODUCTION MANAGER Nathaniel Kennedy
ASSOCIATE COSTUME DESIGNER/HEAD OF WARDROBE Michelle Bailey
Michelle Bailey
Associate Costume Designer/Head of Wardrobe
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade
Michelle lives and works in Toronto as a professional costumer for theatre and dance, primarily as Head of Wardrobe for Tarragon Theatre. Her Tarragon work includes Mimi, If We Were Birds, Forests, After Akhmatova and The Misanthrope. Select design credits include The Red Queen Effect (Dora Nomination, Seventh Stage Productions); King Lear, Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (Driftwood Theatre); and Whale Music (Assistant Designer, Seventh Stage Productions).
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John Bourgeois
Ben Weeks
For Studio 180: Debut
Selected theatre: The Tempest (Prospero), The Price, The Goat, Lost in Yonkers, Oleanna, Cherry Docs, Frankie & Johnny (MTC); Tamara (Off-Broadway); Gaslight (Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia); three seasons at the Stratford Festival; and M.Butterfly (Theatre Aquarius). Selected directing: After Miss Julie (MTC), Decadence (Dora Nomination – Ziggurat Theatre), Taming of the Shrew (Dora Nomination – Skylight Theatre), Rough Crossing (Centaur Theatre) and Bag Babies (Theatre Passe Muraille). Writing: Tansey’s Brag (Ziggurat Theatre – a one man show performed at the Toronto Fringe and taped for Bravo TV Spoken Word and CBC Radio’s Sunday Night Playhouse), Walking on Crimson (Toronto Fringe) and an adaptation of Knut Hamsun’s Hunger (Ziggurat Theatre). Teaching: U of T, George Brown and York. Currently Director of the acting programs at Humber College’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Other: Numerous appearances in TV and film. Recent credits include Flashpoint, Covert Affairs, The Kennedys and Haven. Produced and directed the original short feature film, Jimmy Pacheco (Best Comedy at Mill Valley Festival). Amelia Hall Award (Stratford Festival).
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Sarah Bustard
Assistant Stage Manager
For Studio 180: Debut
Sarah grew up in Carleton Place, Ontario, graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston and now calls Toronto home. Selected credits include White Rabbit Red Rabbit (SummerWorks); Andromache, Hamlet (Necessary Angel); La clemenza di Tito (Opera Atelier); The Big League, Forbidden Phoenix (LKTYP); Madhouse Variations (Eldritch Theatre); Twelfth Night (Co-op, GromKat/Direct Flight); The Cherry Orchard (Soulpepper); The Tempest (Canadian Stage Company); Tuesdays with Morrie, Kindertransport (Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company); Madama Butterfly (Opera Hamilton); Evil Dead, The Musical (Independent); The Beggar’s Opera, Trying (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Wade in the Water and The Goat, or, Who is Sylvia? (Centaur Theatre Company).
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Mark Crawford
Craig Donner/Grady/Orderly
For Studio 180: Debut
Most recently, Mark appeared in Vimy at the Blyth Festival. Other theatre credits include The 39 Steps (Globus Theatre); The Waves (Toronto Fringe); George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (Theatre New Brunswick); Sky Gilbert’s Why We Tortured Him (Hammertheatre); Trinculo in The Tempest (Canadian Stage); The Miser (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Opening Night (Theatre Aquarius); Mary’s Wedding, Cost of Living (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Peg and the Yeti, Bluenose, Danny, King of the Basement (Carousel Players); Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (Driftwood Theatre); and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Festival of Classics). Mark is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Sheridan College. Upcoming: The 39 Steps (Magnus Theatre).
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Paul Essiembre
Bruce Niles
Other Studio 180 productions: The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens (2008/2009)
Other theatre credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, The Duchess of Malfi, Don Juan, Macbeth (Stratford Festival); Don Juan (Théâtre du Nouveau Monde); Le Dîner de Cons, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Art (Théâtre Français de Toronto); Tillsonburg (Canadian Stage); Zadie’s Shoes, Oui (Factory Theatre); Sleuth (Saidye Bronfman); Othello (Atlantic Theatre Festival); Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Centaur Theatre); Taming of the Shrew (World Stage Festival); and Goodnight Desdemona/Good Morning Juliet (Great Canadian Theatre Company). Some film and TV: Good Dog (HBO Canada); Covert Affairs (USA Network); Warehouse 13 (SyFy); ReGenesis, Blue Murder (Global); Flashpoint, Degrassi TNG, Plague City, Sue Thomas F.B. Eye (CTV); At the Hotel, The Newsroom, Freedom of the Air, A People’s History of Canada (CBC); Kevin Hill (UPN); Queer as Folk, Coast to Coast (Showtime). Extensive work as a voice artist includes documentary narration, notably on Journey to the Edge of the Universe and Earth: The Making of a Planet for Discovery Canada; animated series, including Silver Surfer (FOX), My Dad the Rock Star (Nelvana) and Rescue Heroes (WB); and countless commercial voice-overs. Upcoming: L’Emmerdeur (Théâtre Français de Toronto).
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Verne Good
Sound Designer
For Studio 180: Debut
Verne is a Toronto-based sound designer and poet, and has been the Assistant
Sound Designer at the Stratford Festival for two seasons. Favourite sound designs include Alphonse (Theaturtle); Eurydice (The Theatre); Jesus Chrysler (Praxis Theatre); Communion (Tarragon Theatre); Epic of Gilgamesh (Groundwater Productions); The Red Queen Effect, Or, and 9 Parts of Desire (Seventh Stage Productions); and Buried (Theatre Awakening). Upcoming: designs for Nightwood Theatre, Native Earth, Tarragon Theatre and the Stratford Festival.
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JOEL GREENBERG
Director
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade (director and choreographer), The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens (2008/2009), Blackbird, The Arab-Israeli Cookbook, The Laramie Project (2003/2004), The Passion of the Chris
Originally from Montreal, Joel moved to Toronto in 1971, where he has lived and worked since. Joel’s credits as director (D), choreographer (C ) and playwright (P) cover a wide range of styles. In addition to his work with Studio 180, credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’ (D/C – Dora Award, Outstanding Direction) for the Premiere Dance Theatre; Forbidden Broadway (D/C – Dora Award Nomination, Outstanding Direction); The Underdogs (D) and What the Butler Saw (D) for Just For Laughs, Montreal; Taking Sides (D) for Centaur Theatre; The House of Blue Leaves (D), Lend Me a Tenor (D), You Can’t Take It with You (D) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (D) for Theatre Aquarius; Second City (C – 7 productions in Toronto and Chicago); Drink the Mercury (P/D – Dora Award, Outstanding Young Audience Production) and The Nuclear Power Show (P/D – Chalmers Playwriting Award, Outstanding Young Audience Play) for Young People’s Theatre; Bells are Ringing (D/C), She Loves Me (C ) and Vanities (D) for the Grand Theatre; The Golden Land (D/C) and The Rothschilds (D/C) for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre.
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ROBERT HARDING
Stage Manager
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade, Stuff Happens (2008/2009), Blackbird
Credits elsewhere include Side by Side by Sondheim (The Grand Theatre); “Master Harold”…and the boys (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Happy Days (Theatre Columbus); Another Home Invasion, Communion, A Beautiful View, How It Works, Past Perfect (Tarragon Theatre); Festen, Marion Bridge, A Whistle in the Dark (Company Theatre); British Invasion!, British Invasion 2: America Strikes Back! (Charlottetown Festival); Seussical (LKTYP); Carmela’s Table (Centaur Theatre); The Taming of the Shrew (ShakespeareWorks); and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Resurgence Theatre).
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Ryan Kelly
Mickey Marcus
For Studio 180: Debut
Previous theatre credits include I Have AIDS (Cabaret Co.), Twelfth Night (Gromkat/Direct Flight), Crush (Optic Heart), Craplicker (Best of Fringe ’10), Soulless (505 Prod), Life Like Luv (Rhubarb ’06) and Will the Real JT LeRoy Please Stand Up? (Dora Award ’07, Cabaret Co.). Musical credits include Mamma Mia (Mirvish), Living With Henry (Best of Fringe ’11), Charlie Brown (DaCapo Prod), Hipcheck (Best of Fringe ’09), Robin Hood and Cinderella (Ross Petty), Jesus Christ Superstar (Toronto Youth Theatre), Cordelia (Rhubarb ’10), Suzie Goo Private Secretary (Buddies in Bad Times) and The House of Martin Guerre (Canadian Stage). Film and TV credits include Cosmopolis (Alfama Films), Warehouse 13 (SyFy), Breakout Kings (A&E), Dan for Mayor and The Big One (CTV), Queer as Folk (Showtime), How to Be Indie (YTV), Unlocked (CBC), Broken Tulips (Enroute Fest Winner), The Dog Walker (Genie Nomination – CFC) and Almost Audrey (Canadian Comedy Awards Nomination – Comedy Network). Ryan is also the Director of Performing Arts at The Centre for Art and Soul. Upcoming: Dancing Queen (Buddies in Bad Times).
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NATHANIEL KENNEDY
Production Manager
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade, The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens (2008/2009), Blackbird, Offensive Shadows
Nathaniel has worked in theatre production across Canada and internationally. Most recently he has worked with Tarragon Theatre, Necessary Angel and Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. Nathaniel is currently a Special Events Supervisor for the City of Toronto.
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Suzanne McArthur
Apprentice Stage Manager
For Studio 180: Debut
Other credits include Hosanna, The Tempest (Stratford Festival); Forests (Tarragon Theatre); Side by Side by Sondheim, Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz (The Grand Theatre); Wrong for Each Other, Knickers: A Brief Comedy (Port Stanley Festival Theatre); Beauty and the Beast (Silver Mist Productions); The Last 15 Seconds, Seasons of Immigration (MT Space); Schoolhouse, The Last Green Hill, The Art of Silent Killing (4th Line Theatre); Potato Chips (Theatre Beyond Words); Little Shop of Horrors and The Rocky Horror Show (Theatre in Port). Production Assistant for West Side Story, Macbeth, Cyrano de Bergerac, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stratford Festival).
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MARK MCGRINDER
David/Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor/Orderly
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade, Stuff Happens (2008/2009), Offensive Shadows, The Arab-Israeli Cookbook, The Passion of the Chris, The Laramie Project (2003/2004)
In addition to his work with Studio 180, Mark most recently appeared in The Big League (LKTYP). A veteran of five seasons with the Shaw Festival and several revues with The Second City’s National Touring Company, Mark’s other stage credits include Summer of My Amazing Luck, The Beggar’s Opera (Thousand Islands Playhouse); The Kitchen Witches, Over the River and Through the Woods (Theatre North West); No Good Reason (Red Socks Company/Young Centre); The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (Theatre and Company); The Adventures of Joseph Andrews (Tarragon Extra Space); The Foursome (Showboat Festival); Alexander Graham Bell I Want to Have Your Love Child (Canadian Fringe Tour); The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, Tough (Adelaide Fringe); and Wild Abandon (Waterloo Fringe). Mark is a co-founder and member of the Core Artistic Team for Studio 180 and was the Assistant Director for Blackbird.
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Jeff Miller
Felix Turner
Other Studio 180 productions: The Arab-Israeli Cookbook, The Laramie Project (2004)
Other credits include Half-Life, Rabbit Hole, Leading Ladies (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Steven Gallagher’s Craplicker (Toronto Fringe 2010); Mike McPhaden’s Poochwater, Sean Reycraft’s One Good Marriage (Theatre Passe Muraille); Stones in His Pockets, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Petrified Forest, Moon Over Buffalo (Nipissing Stage); Communicating Doors (Magnus Theatre); The Othello Project (Florida Shakespeare Theater); Love! Valour! Compassion!, Twilight of the Golds (Boston Speakeasy Theater); The Lisbon Traviata (Boston Triangle Theater). Jeff has taught and directed at North Bay’s Canadore College.
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SARAH ORENSTEIN
Dr. Emma Brookner
Other Studio 180 Productions: Stuff Happens (2008/2009)
Other credits include 13 seasons at the Shaw Festival including productions of The Millionairess, Heartbreak House, Blithe Spirit and Playboy of the Western World. Sarah is a regular on Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre stage, thrice nominated for Dora awards for her work in The Retreat, The Hope Slide and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, and winning the Dora for her role in Patience. Most recently she appeared at the Tarragon in After Akhmatova and Scorched. Other recent appearances include Early August (Blyth Festival), Zastrozzi (Stratford Festival), Beyond Mozambique and Apple (Factory Theatre), The Doll’s House (GCTC, winner of the critic’s circle award) and Hanna’s Suitcase (LKTYP). Some of Ms. Orenstein’s film and TV credits include Breakout Kings (A&E/Fox), The Battle of Maggie Hill (Fox TV), Fugitive Pieces (Serendipity), Murdoch Mysteries (Shaftesbury) and Molly: American Doll (Disney).
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KIMBERLY PURTELL
Lighting Designer
Other Studio 180 productions: Clybourne Park, Our Class, Parade, The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens (2008/2009), Blackbird
Kimberly is a Toronto-based lighting designer for theatre, opera and dance. Her designs have been critically acclaimed on both national and international stages. They have been seen across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Prague, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Russia and Mongolia. She has received 12 Dora Award Nominations, winning twice, and is a recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award. Selected design credits include The Maids and Blasted (Buddies in Bad Times), His Greatness (IART), The Little Years (Stratford), Forests (Tarragon Theatre), Svadba (Queen of Puddings), This Is What Happens Next (Necessary Angel), The Middle Place (Project Humanity/Canadian Stage/Theatre Passe Muraille), The Drowsy Chaperone (MTC/Theatre Calgary), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera Hamilton), The List (Nightwood), 20 / 20 (Kaeja d’Dance), Machina Nuptualis (Corpus) and Tono (Beijing and Vancouver Cultural Olympiad).
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Jonathan Seinen
Tommy Boatwright
For Studio 180: Debut
Jonathan is an actor, director and playwright, Artistic Associate with lemonTree creations, and Co-Artistic Producer of Architect Theatre. Recent acting credits include Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show (Architect/Theatre Passe Muraille), As You Like It (Banff Centre/Citadel Professional Theatre Program), and Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo & Juliet (Theatre Prospero). Directing credits include Still Life (lemonTree/SummerWorks), Deathwatch (lemonTree/Pride Toronto), Christmas Ham(let) (Swallow-a-Bicycle Performance Co-op) and The Red Devil (lemonTree/SummerWorks, Outstanding Direction – NOW Magazine). Selected playwriting credits include Unknown Pleasures (Sage Theatre) and [ ice land ] (Walterdale Theatre, published in Hot Thespian Action! (Athabasca UP)). A graduate of the University of Alberta and the National Theatre School, Jonathan is currently developing an adaptation of Measure for Measure for Direct Flight Theatre/GromKat Productions.
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John Thompson
Scenery and Costume Designer
Other Studio 180 productions: Our Class
John’s credits include Through the Leaves (Dora Award), Festen, A Whistle in the Dark, Marion Bridge (Company Theatre); Eternal Hydra (Crow’s Theatre – Dora Award); Blue/Orange (Canadian Stage); Waiting for Godot, No Man’s Land, Betrayal, Don Carlos (Soulpepper Theatre); Retreat from Moscow (Neptune Theatre – Merritt Award); Russell Hill, Helen’s Necklace, Little Mercy’s First Murder, Alice’s Affair, The Pessimist, Earshot, Skylight, The Good Life (Tarragon Theatre); The Trials of Ezra Pound (Stratford Festival); The Shape of Things, Humble Boy, The Tempest, A Christmas Carol, The Clean House, Retreat from Moscow (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Unity 1918, Blood (Theatre Passe Muraille); Einstein’s Gift, Proof, Flowers, Democracy, Miss Julie, Later Life, The Rez Sisters, The Secret Garden (Grand Theatre). John has been nominated for five Dora Mavor Moore Awards, winning two. John also teaches design at The University College Drama Department at the University of Toronto.
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Jonathan Wilson
Ned Weeks
For Studio 180: Debut
Past theatre work includes the Canadian premiere of The Lion King (Dora Award – The Princess of Wales Theatre) and performances in his own play My Own Private Oshawa (Dora/Chalmers Nomination – Tarragon Theatre, New Yorker Theatre). Jonathan was also a writer and performer with The Second City for six shows (Dora Nomination). Other theatre credits include Possible Worlds and The Duchess (Theatre Passe Murraille), Not To Be Repeated and Medici Slot Machine (Tarragon Extra Space), Moonlight and Magnolias (Sudbury Theatre Centre), Cinderella (The Elgin Theatre), This Could Be Love (The Poor Alex) and Annie Get Your Gun (Massey Hall). Jonathan was also writer in residence at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto where he wrote the play Kilt (Dora/New York Drama Desk nominations), which has had over 20 productions around the world. TV and film credits include Not To Be Repeated (CTV/The Comedy Network), My Own Private Oshawa (Gemini Nomination – CTV), Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye (Pax Network/CTV), Murdoch Mysteries (CityTV), This Is Wonderland (CBC), Life With Derek (Family) and Monk (USA Network), as well as hundreds of voices for animated series including Skatoony, Iggy Arbuckle (Gemini Nomination), Pearlie and Little Bear.
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2011 END-OF-YEAR REVIEWS
Listed among the top productions of the year:
NOW MAGAZINE (Top 10)
GLOBE AND MAIL (Top 11 of 2011)
TORONTO STAR (Theatrical Cheers)
TORONTO SUN (Top 10)
SLOTKIN LETTER/CIUT 89.5 FM (Top 10)
“More brilliant work from one of the most reliably interesting and challenging theatre companies in town.”
★★★★ (out of four) TORONTO STAR
“Outstanding!”
★★★★ (out of four) GLOBE AND MAIL
“Continues to anger, shock and move even three decades after its premiere.”
NNNNN NOW MAGAZINE
“Damn good theatre!”
★★★★★ TORONTO SUN
“Normal is Outstanding!”
★★★★★ STAGE DOOR
“An involving and passionate production.”
FAB MAGAZINE
“An intense theatrical experience not to be missed!”
POSITIVE LITE
“You must go and see it!”
MOONEY ON THEATRE
“Brilliant marriage between great theatre and great politics.”
★★★★½ TORONTOIST
Reference
Letter from Larry Kramer
Timeline: Thirty Years of HIV/AIDS
“How I Would Put an End to HIV” by Alex McClelland
“Power to the People: A look back at the issues, struggles and victories that defined the early age of AIDS activism in Canada”
by Tim McCaskell
Study Guide
THE NORMAL HEART Study Guide (PDF)
