Immediately following Tuesday performances, members of the community will lead a Tuesday TalkOut, which will underscore the themes and historical context of the play.
Participants will include Freedom to Marry president and founder Evan Wolfson, designer Kenneth Cole, amfAR CEO Kevin Front, stage and screen star Cheyenne Jackson, Friends in Deed president Cynthia O’Neal, original Rent star Anthony Rapp, HRC campaign strategist Brian Ellner and many more.
The full schedule for the Tuesday TalkOut series follows:
May 3
The Freedom to Marry In—and Since—The Normal Heart
With Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry and author of "Why Marriage Matters."
May 10
Q & A
A discussion with Kenneth Cole, amfAR CEO Kevin Frost, and actor and activist Cheyenne Jackson.
May 17
Friends In Deed, AIDS and the Rent Connection
With Cynthia O'Neal, co-founder and president of Friends In Deed, and Anthony Rapp, actor and Friends In Deed board member.
May 24
Connecting the Dots of History: How Religion-Based Bigotry Stifled Early Proper AIDS Funding
With Mitchell Gold, of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, and Jimmy Creech, author of "Adam's Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays"
May 31
A Conversation About What It Means to be Gay in America Today
With Dr. Joy Browne, WOR radio psychologist
June 7
DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS—Its History and Purpose
With Steven Williams, Director of Community Relations and Operations, DIFFA
June 14
The Fight for Marriage Equality in New York
With Brian Ellner, HRC Senior Campaign Strategist
June 21
Responding to the Crisis—Past, Present and Future: The Actors Fund’s HIV/AIDS Initiative
With Joseph P. Benincasa, President and CEO and Barbara Davis, COO, The Actors Fund
Additional talkbacks and participants will be announced shortly. For updates and complete information, visit http://thenormalheartbroadway.com/talkout.php.
"The story of a city in denial," The Normal Heart, according to press notes, "unfolds like a real-life political thriller -- as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. First produced by Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater, the play was a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. So ahead of its time was this play that many of the core issues it addresses – including gay marriage, the healthcare system and, of course, AIDS – are just as relevant today as they were when it first premiered."
The cast of The Normal Heart includes Ellen Barkin ("Ocean’s 13"), Patrick Breen (Next Fall), Mark Harelik (Mrs. Warren’s Profession), John Benjamin Hickey (“The Big C”), Luke Macfarlane (“Brothers and Sisters”), Joe Mantello (Angels in America), Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”), Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”), Richard Topol (The Merchant of Venice) and Wayne Alan Wilcox (Coram Boy).
For more information visit www.TheNormalHeartBroadway.com. 

