I am so proud of our local theater actors as they have been brave enough to mount really good material for plays this year. I saw in an interview that Helen Mirren is still thinking of doing Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, but PETA already staged it earlier this year with Cherie Gil essaying the role that Helen Mirren wants.
I just learned that two really good plays are going to be staged here as well, this one, The Normal Heart, which was written in the 80s when AIDS was slowly decimating America's gay population and 33 Variations, the vehicle Jane Fonda to return to Broadway. Both plays are Tony awardees as well and were nominated for Best Play the year they were staged. Also, most of the roles in these two plays have been played by Hollywood A-listers so the material should be very good.
I am more interested though in 33 Variations since I want to see how they would stage Beethoven during his time and whoever plays Jane Fonda, in the present, knowing that the group staging it is known for minimalist stage props.
The last great material I saw about AIDS was HBO's Angels in America - which was very moving and I thought, no other material could possibly top this. Let's see where The Normal Heart is coming from.
