THE NORMAL HEART Will Open at Lakewood Playhouse Next Week

In one week, Lakewood Playhouse opens Larry Kramer's searing and deeply human drama The Normal Heart, continuing the theatre's 87th Season with a story about individuals who refuse to be silent in the face of crisis.

Running February 20 through March 8, The Normal Heart features performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm. Special performances include an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, February 28 at 7:30pm, and a Pay What You Can / Industry Night on Sunday, March 1 at 7:30pm. Several performances are already sold out, and advance booking is strongly encouraged.

First produced in 1985, The Normal Heart chronicles the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York City, drawing directly from Kramer's own experiences co-founding the Gay Men's Health Crisis. The play follows Ned Weeks, a reluctant leader whose ferocious activism pits him against institutions, politics, and even the people he loves most — all while time is running out.

Director Joseph C. Walsh notes that the production leans into the emotional engine of Kramer's writing:

“The anger in The Normal Heart is palpable,” Walsh says, “but so is the heart.” Throughout rehearsals, Walsh and the cast returned again and again to what he describes as the play's central idea — that change happens at the intersection of love and anger. “One man, Larry Kramer, changed the world,” Walsh explains. “We wanted to give people an outlet for both their love and their anger, and to inspire them to use their voice to make positive change in their own community.”

That urgency, Walsh adds, feels unavoidable in the current moment. “The history of theatre is political. As a country, we are in crisis, and now is not the time to be polite. This is the time for artists and theatres to take a stand and tell stories that are in danger of being erased.”

For actor Darryin B. Cunningham, who portrays Bruce Niles, the rehearsal process has been both challenging and liberating. Cunningham describes the work as an opportunity to amplify his own perspective while remaining faithful to Kramer's uncompromising text. Bruce, he says, is “beautiful because he's tragic — and because he's real.” Rather than smoothing over the character's flaws, the production embraces them. “There is a certain cowardice about Bruce, and we can't shy away from it,” Cunningham explains. “It breaks my heart a little, but I believe he's redeemable. This show is difficult for all of us, but it's immensely rewarding. I'm learning and growing so much because of it.”

Actor John Pedro, who plays Ned Weeks, believes the play's relevance has only intensified. Though just twenty-two, Pedro sees the AIDS crisis not as distant history but as a foundation for the political and cultural consequences still unfolding today. “We are living in the aftermath of the Reagan era,” Pedro says, pointing to the persistence of rigid, exclusionary ideas of the American ideal. “Anyone outside that narrow definition is still deemed ‘other.'”

Pedro connects the play's themes to the continued policing of intimacy and identity, noting that silence around sex and love has long been weaponized. That silence, he says, costs lives — and continues to do so. Quoting Ned Weeks directly, Pedro underscores the point: “This single-minded determination of all you people to forever see us as sick helps keep us sick.”

The cast of The Normal Heart includes John Pedro as Ned Weeks, Gina D. Grosso as Dr. Emma Brookner, Darryin B. Cunningham as Bruce Niles, Sergio Antonio Garcia as Felix Turner, Luke Amundson as Ben Weeks, Ty Halton as Tommy Boatwright, Jerry Romasco as Craig Donner/Grady and understudy Mickey/Ned, Jason Sharp as Mickey Marcus, Zack Fowler as David and understudy Ben/Hiram/Examining Doctor, Joseph Grant as Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor, and Michelle Patrick as understudy Emma.