The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer

Studio Theater in Exile (“STIE”) is teaming up with Peekskill Pride to present The Normal Heart, a poignant autobiographical play by AIDS activist Ned Weeks that explores one man’s fight in the 1980s to bring attention to the epidemic. Performances will take place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from June 12 to June 28 at STIE, which is housed in Hudson Valley MOCA Arts at 1701 Main Street in Peekskill. Details and ticket sales are available online at studiotheaterinexile.com/events.

Peekskill artist Carla Ray Johnson and Cynthia Knox, CEO of Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP), are associate co-producers the performances, together with STIE Producer Jeremy Gratt and Artistic Director Mara Mills.

In addition to performances of The Normal Heart, on June 6, drag queen Amber Guesa, an AIDS survivor, will be performing at STIE. An AIDS testing wagon will be on hand to give free screenings.

The Normal Heart, which was produced off-Broadway in 1985 and premiered on Broadway in 2011, follows the feisty Weeks as he demands the government, the press, and medical professionals to address an unidentified disease that was killing gay men, mostly in New York City. In the play he also confronts his brother’s homophobia, and finds himself falling in love in a time when love was more deadly.

Directed by Tom Kramer, the play will feature Amanda Bloom, Nic Calaboro, Steve Cruz, Ed Friedman, George Croom, Gavino Olvera, Eric Percival, and Neil Schleifer. Ashley Antonia Lopez is marketing coordinator, and Carrie Ford is stage manager.

“People who are involved in Pride, and who might not normally have found us on their own, are now coming to the theater for our Pride performances and for other events,” said Mills. “So, there is a blossoming of audiences, of artists, and of people in the community collaborating together.”

Kramer noted that this 40-year-old play is once again timely: “What we saw in the early ’80s, in terms of the government turning its back, we are seeing again. You look at the active refusal to allow people in the trans community to receive the medical care they need. I would say back in ’81, it was done more out of ignorance. Now, it is an active program of removal. This play has become not just about gays. It has become a call to action against a government who is abandoning its responsibilities on purpose. Still, it is also a very beautiful play.”

Brian Fassett, founder and Vice President of Peekskill Pride, and Charlie DiGruccio, President, are excited to be collaborating with STIE for the third year in a row. Fassett remarked: “Presenting The Normal Heart today is not an act of looking back; it’s an urgent reminder of where we still are. Tens of thousands of people are newly diagnosed with HIV each year in the United States, and approximately 1.3 million people worldwide continue to acquire HIV annually. While we’ve made extraordinary progress since the early days depicted in the play, public health leaders warn that the global HIV response is once again in crisis mode, with gaps in prevention and care threatening to undo decades of progress.” Fassett is a Councilperson for Peekskill

DiGruccio, who is also a Councilperson for the City of Peekskill, said “The Normal Heart reminds us of the courage, resilience, and activism of those who lived through the early HIV/AIDS crisis—a fight that saved lives and helped shape the community we are part of today. But the work is far from over: progress is being challenged, and we must continue advocating for access to treatment, education, and a cure, so that everyone can live with dignity and care.”

Eric Percival, who will be playing the role of Ned Weeks, is an award-winning actor and has performed on stages in New York City, London, and throughout the U.S. and Europe. He told of a recent encounter with a friend who thought if the play is about AIDS, it must be a “downer.” Percival responded: “No! It’s the opposite of a downer! It’s invigorating; it’s about life and passion and the human drive to fight back against overwhelming odds. It’s a love story and a horror story and a political drama and a character study. It’s a comedy about the very human foibles that set us at each other’s throats when we need to work together, and when the play makes us cry, it’s because it made us care about something worth losing."

Percival continued: “I couldn’t be prouder to be in the right time and place to be part of a production that has the potential to give a face to a group that’s often faceless, and a voice to a group that’s often voiceless. I’m excited to bring this powerful and timeless play in front of audiences at a time when it’s relevant and urgently needed.”

Studio Theater in Exile was founded in 2005 by Mara Mills and Jeremy Gratt to produce original work. STIE seeks to serve two communities: the artist community and the public community. They are committed to working with underrepresented voices, both in the playwrights and content of plays they produce. Their productions explore difficult issues of identity, conflict, and displacement. Prioritizing audience interface, STIE partners with libraries, museums, galleries, and community centers. Theater promotes dialogue. They seek that connection.

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