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Cheyenne Jackson is in talks to join the first Broadway production of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's landmark play about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, reports The New York Times.
Joe Mantello, a Tony award-nominated actor for Angels in America and Tony award-winning director of Take Me Out, will play Ned Weeks, the play's protagonist, based on Kramer. Love! Valour! Compassion!'s John Benjamin Hickey will play Ned's lover, Felix Turner. Ellen Barkin will make her Broadway debut as Emma Brookner, the wheelchair-bound doctor who realizes the seriousness of the AIDS crisis. Jackson will likely play Tommy, an activist. The production will be directed by Oscar- and Tony award-winner Joel Grey.
The Normal Heart will begin preview performances at the Golden Theater on April 19 and open on April 27, a day before the deadline to qualify for Tony award consideration. Kramer's play first opened on April 21, 1985 and ran for 294 performances. The revival follows an acclaimed staged reading of the play in New York last October, which raised $150,000 for charity.
A film adaptation to be directed by Ryan Murphy with Mark Ruffalo attached to star is in the works.
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