‘The Normal Heart’: An Insight on AIDS

Sharon Sanderson, a well-tanned 19-year-old in her second year at Orange Coast College, creased her forehead and sighed that she just hates plays. Too slow for her quick-pulse life.

“I go to movies and (rock) concerts. They have more energy, and I can relate better,” she said, shifting her passel of class books from arm to arm.

OK. But what if the play is about AIDS? Sanderson sighed again, a look of anxiety replacing the look of casual distaste. She didn’t hesitate: “I’d probably go and see that; that’s different. . . . I don’t know all that I should (about the incurable disease); maybe I could learn something. You kinda feel like it’s your obligation to pay attention.”

For the next three weeks, OCC’s drama department hopes that students, as well as a more general audience, will pay attention to a project in the works for a few months. Under the direction of instructor Bill Purkiss, the campus is staging the Orange County premiere of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart.” The AIDS-oriented drama--part love story, part political broadside--probes the emotional impact as well as the social ramifications of the virus.

“The Normal Heart,” which created a stir when it was produced at Las Palmas Theatre in Los Angeles in 1985, centers almost exclusively on the effects AIDS has had on the homosexual community and has been described as dated for that reason. Research the past few years has discovered that heterosexuals, particularly intravenous drug users and those with several partners, are at risk--facts this play doesn’t explore.

Purkiss, however, believes that the drama is still more than relevant, especially for a college-age audience, and that the story is special. The writing, he noted, puts the pain of AIDS in a context that is affecting for everyone, and, with its implied argument against promiscuity and for ongoing public concern, makes it pertinent for years to come.

“I agree that the piece is (focused) on the period when the outbreak first took place and some of the information is not as current as it could be, but there’s no doubt that it has value. Besides, it’s a very powerful work that is going to knock some socks off. On a human level, it is a great love story.”

Furthermore, Purkiss said, the production also gives the campus the opportunity to present updated, more specific information to the audience. “There will be AIDS material available in the lobby, that’s our way of making this whole thing more current,” he explained.

The key character in “The Normal Heart” is Ned Weeks (played by UCI drama professor Stuart Duckworth), a writer and gay activist who is enraged at New York public officials for their inaction in combatting AIDS as well as at gays who are cavalier in facing its threats. He forms an advocacy group aimed at fighting the disease but is eventually expelled when its members are put off by his fanatical approach.

“The Normal Heart” takes an even more personal shift when Weeks begins a relationship with Felix, a gay fashion writer for the New York Times, who is infected with AIDS. Their interactions as Felix approaches death, and Weeks’ tenuous bonds with his own brother, give “The Normal Heart” much of its dramatic weight.

“This is a searing play that doesn’t let you off the hook; I think it’s more humanistic than polemic,” Purkiss said.

The play’s potency is, in part, generated by its direct realism, a point the drama department has made clear in its publicity campaign, which has included the distribution of about 20,000 flyers throughout the area, especially to local student and gay and lesbian centers. The dialogue is as graphic and uncompromising as the situation, Purkiss said.

“This isn’t for children,” he noted.

Because of the precautions, Purkiss is not concerned that the production will attract adults who are easily offended. And even if it does, Purkiss isn’t too concerned. Orange County, known for its conservatism, can use a frank discussion of AIDS and homosexuality, he said.

“In O.C. we have this wonderful feeling that we’re insulated; we have an airport with John Wayne guarding us and the feeling that the sins of Los Angeles can’t touch us. But AIDS is here and facing us, too. It has to be dealt with in a gingerly manner, but still dealt with.”

The campus commitment to the project, apparently, reaches to the top of the college’s administration. President Donald Bronsard, while stressing that the community should “first be forewarned” about the play’s straightforward nature, said he supports the production “because it is a perfectly timely piece.”

“I’m not sure (AIDS) is the most pressing concern (on campus), but it certainly is one of the most important concerns; it’s part of our educational obligation for students and others in our service region,” he said.

Besides providing insight into AIDS, Purkiss believes that “The Normal Heart” offers a secondary message of tolerance that students should be reminded of. He said he is disturbed by an increase in racial and anti-gay jokes on campus during the past few years.

“It appears that it is now acceptable to take shots, to have a patronizing, offensive attitude. This show helps to balance the checkbook a bit.”

A handful of brief interviews with OCC students reflected a good deal of interest in the production and, as expected, a great deal of interest in AIDS.

With his fiance sipping a soft drink at his side, Jeffrey Ruiz, 20, of Costa Mesa, said he thought of the disease “all the time.” He described a two-year monogamous relationship with girlfriend Rita Nessen, 18, also from Costa Mesa, but admitted that he was worried about earlier liaisons.

“It’s something that really hangs with you if you think about it too much. You have these doubts just about everyone you’ve been with.” Like Sanderson, Ruiz said he would try to attend a performance, “if only to learn something.”

Although saying she would attend the play with him if he wanted her to, Nessen was less motivated. “It’s not that I’m not concerned about AIDS, but I think I know what I’m doing. I’ve read the literature and my mom tells me (about the dangers).” Nessen paused. “I don’t know, it (‘The Normal Heart’) might depress me too much.”

Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart” (recommended for mature audiences) plays tonight and Thursdays through Sundays through July 3 at Orange Coast College’s Drama Lab theater in Costa Mesa. Tickets: $5.50 and $7. Information: (714) 432-5640 or (714) 432-5527.