Activism On and From the Stage

Cutie-patooties Jim Parsons (TV’s The Big Bang Theory) and Lee Pace (pictured here) are getting ready to hit Broadway for the very first time, making their Great White Way debuts in The Normal Heart for director Joel Grey.

The play, which was first staged off-Broadway in 1985, already has Joe Mantello, Ellen Barkin, and John Benjamin Hickey all cast and ready to go. It follows the travails of a group of friends who refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth of the unspoken HIV/AIDS epidemic in early-’80s New York City.

Set to run for 12 weeks, The Normal Heart will begin previews on April 19 before officially opening on April 27.

A percentage of the production’s weekly profits will be donated to nonprofits, including The Actors Fund and Friends In Deed. In addition, a special partnership is being created with amfAR.

Photo: GlanceOfOswald.blogspot.com.