1985 April 21

“The Normal Heart,” By Gay Rights Activist Larry Kramer, Opens Off-Broadway

 

The Normal Heart is a semi-autobiographical play by Larry Kramer dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s. Kramer had become a leading gay rights activist, and was instrumental in helping to found the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) clinic.

For events in which Kramer played a major part, see August 11, 1981January 4, 1982March 10, 1987; and March 24, 1987.

One of the most important LGBT activists of his time, Larry Kramer died on May 27, 2020.

Don’t miss: David France, How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of  How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS (2016)

See highlights from The Normal Heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCr3oTGBW10

Learn more about Larry Kramer: Lawrence Mass, ed., We Must Love One Another or Die: The Life and Legacies of Larry Kramer (1997)

Read the important new book on the history of ACT UP: Sarah Schulman, Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP in New York City, 1987-1993 (2021)

Watch an interview with Larry Kramer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avITb-TZWOQ

See the HBO film of the play: The Normal Heart (2014)

Learn more at a  timeline on HIV/AIDShttp://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/aids-timeline/

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