Interludes

VIEWPOINTS: Humanizing the AIDS Crisis Through the Truth-Telling Lens of Theater

• By drediman
• April 2, 2014
• No Comments

One of darkest episodes in recent American history has been the ongoing AIDS crisis, particularly during the panic- and confusion-ridden 1980s and the anguished 1990s. Luckily, since then, life-maintaining drugs have been introduced, saving many American lives. As is usually the case with these things, time dulls (heals?) the pain as we go on living our lives. For better or worse, looking back at that difficult period from today’s point of view is starting to feel more like a clinical history lesson than a painful reality. Fortunately, we have art, and in this case a small library of impassioned plays from American playwrights and composers that, when patched together, unflinchingly documents the feelings and emotions at every step of those devastating years. Growing up as a child of the 1980s and 1990s with limited access to information on the AIDS epidemic, these truth-telling plays, whether in performance or text, became my history lessons. In their own style and from their own perspective, each of these plays humanized and communicated the reality of the unthinkable circumstances of the AIDS crisis, particularly in New York City (I grew up in nearby upstate New York). In retrospect, I could not have asked for more powerful and lasting lessons from more learned teachers. Below, I cover key plays – cum history lessons – that have chronicled the AIDS crisis, particularly during the 1980s.

Something bad is happening: “Falsettos” by William Finn (1979-1981)

“Falsettos”, composer and lyricist William Finn’s compassionate and very funny masterpiece, is really composed of two one act musicals, “March of the Falsettos” (Act 1) and “Falsettoland” (Act 2), that were pieced together for Broadway. “March of the Falsettos” takes place in 1979 New York City before the onset of the AIDS crisis. It tells the story of Marvin, a gay man who leaves his wife and son for Whizzer, another man. Marvin’s excitement at his self-discovery and his wife’s mental breakdown are thrillingly depicted in Finn’s exhilarating set of neurotic songs. The second act, “Falsettoland”, takes place two years later in 1981. It takes a somber turn, as Whizzer finds himself increasingly sick with AIDS. Although Finn never refers to this mystery illness by name, one of the doctors professes that “something bad is happening” as she starts to notice gay men turning up at the hospital. “Falsettos” ends not with a political commentary about the AIDS crisis at large, but a reminder of the power of community and love in the face of death (a common theme through each of these plays).  From here on out, politics takes center stage alongside personal strife.

We’re living through war: “The Normal Heart” by Larry Kramer (1981-1984)

Larry Kramer’s trailblazing cry of a play, “The Normal Heart”, picks up where William Finn’s “Falsettos” left off, covering the tumultuous subsequent years of 1981 to 1984. Also set in New York City, “The Normal Heart” tells the story of Ned Weeks (a stand-in for Kramer himself), an activist whose mission is to raise awareness and funding for an unidentified disease that is starting to kill an increasing number of gay men in the city. The drama intensifies as Ned and his fellow activists, which includes the impassioned Dr. Brookner, are increasingly blockaded by political systems (municipal and federal). The play devastatingly ends with Ned at the point of mental and emotional breakdown as his lover dies of AIDS and his attorney brother ultimately refuses to support his cause. All the while, the number of deaths due to complications from AIDS among gay men rises exponentially. This searing piece of propaganda theater is the perfect setup for Tony Kushner’s metaphysical and politically-charged magnum opus, “Angels in America”.

In this world, there’s a kind of painful progress: “Angels in America” by Tony Kushner (1985-1990)

Tony Kushner’s landmark Pulitzer Prize winning two-part (“Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika”), seven-hour opus, “Angels in America”, continues with the New York City perspective and takes place during the ensuing years of 1985 to 1990. “Millennium Approaches” begins with each of the characters finding the ground beneath them shift. Regardless of profile, no one is spared from the effects of the now-named disease: gay, straight, infected, uninfected, mothers, wives, sons, friends, lovers, humans, angels. Everyone is connected, and as the emotional and political stakes escalate to a feverish pitch towards the conclusion of “Millennium Approaches”, the ground opens and Kushner takes us on a wild metaphysical and spiritual ride where issues of national and personal importance are intertwined and discoursed (essentially the second half, “Perestroika”). As the supernatural elements of the play recede, the characters find themselves changed, as if through catharsis. The play ends on a note of sorrow for what has come before, tempered hope for what is to come, and a joy for each moment of life. Indeed, living in and for the moment is the unabashed mantra of the musical “Rent” (also a Pulitzer winner), Jonathan Larson’s ode to life and love in the face of the AIDS crisis, which I discuss next.

Will I lose my dignity: “Rent” by Jonathan Larson (1987-1988)

In the meantime, Jonathan Larson captured another demographic ravaged by the AIDS crisis in his iconic and spirited rock musical, “Rent”. Instead of the posher, more influential characters depicted in the previous plays, Larson takes us downtown to the Lower East Side of New York City and pays respect to the disease-ridden plight of struggling artists and the poverty-stricken during the late 1980s. In a string of joyous, life-affirming anthems, Larson defiantly declares the importance and beauty of living life in the moment. This declaration is made all the more poignant not only because many of the characters in “Rent” face life with AIDS and social rejection, but also because of Larson’s impending and unexpected death immediately prior to his masterwork’s premier Off-Broadway at the New York Theater Workshop. With “Rent”, Larson updated Puccini’s ever-popular opera “La Boheme” and introduced the world to a compelling cast of characters: Roger, Mimi, Angel, Collins, Mark, Joanne, and Maureen. I, for one, was captured by the spirit and passion of the piece ever since I encountered it during a white hot preview performance at the Nederlander Theatre, at which the original Broadway cast unforgettably performed the material to the hilt. To say the least, I was smitten (I won’t disclose how many times I’ve seen “Rent” since). Viva, Jonathan Larson.

The works above comprise the major contributions of theater-makers in telling the human history of the AIDS crisis in this country. Of course, there are other works, like David Drake’s “The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me”, Paul Rudnick’s “Jeffrey”, and Terrence McNally’s “Love! Valour! Compassion!”. These works cover the AIDS experience during the 1990s and typically feature characters dealing with the realities of living with AIDS in a more stabilized health and political environment. As the urgency of the situation died further in the 2000s, I can point to no new work of import delving into the AIDS experience. However, so far in the 2010s, we have seen searing major New York revivals of “The Normal Heart”, “Angels in America”, and “Rent”, once again reminding us of the intensity of those years. Also, last month saw the Broadway opening of “Mothers and Sons”, Terrence McNally’s touching memorial to those we lost to AIDS and a clear-eyed inventory of the progress that has been made since the dark days.