THE NORMAL HEART Tour Limited to Washington and San Francisco

THE NORMAL HEART, which ran a limited run on Broadway last year, is currently playing Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., which was originally reported to be the opening stop on a tour. The Chicago Tribune revealed in a recent article, however, that the tour plans have been limited to the already announced engagements: Arena Stage, where it will run through July 29, and A.C.T. in San Francisco.

The Normal Heart will, as in D.C., perform a limited run September 13–October 7, 2012, at the American Conservatory Theater. Press night is Wednesday, September 19, at 8 p.m. The Normal Heart is presented in association with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C., by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Directed by five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller as a tight-knit group of friends refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth about an epidemic ravaging the gay community behind a wall of silence. Wolfe’s 2011 Broadway staging received universal acclaim and was the recipient of three Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, and the Outer Circle Critics Circle Award, all naming it Best Revival of a Play. The show was also awarded the Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

First produced in 1985 by Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater, where it ran for 294 performances, The Normal Heart immediately became a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. An unflinching and unforgettable play that remains pertinent and prescient, Kramer’s unapologetic tackling of the AIDS epidemic, gay marriage, and our national healthcare system cast theatrical light on issues that are as present in today’s national discourse as they were when the play first premiered a quarter of a century ago. Casting for the A.C.T. production of The Normal Heart will be announced at a later date.