New York: Life Lessons in "Normal Heart"

Broadway's revival of "The Normal Heart" is giving a new generation insights into the gay community's struggle against AIDS in the 1980s. In playwright Larry's Kramer's passionate cry against apathy and resignation in the face of AIDS, today's audiences, especially people age 30 and younger, are learning about friendship and love under existential threat.

A theme of the drama concerns debate in the gay community over sex in the new era: Would gay men have to negotiate between sexless friendships and camaraderie, in a bid to stop infections, and destructive sexual promiscuity? Some characters in the play cannot imagine changing their sexual habits.

"'Even if I got infected, it's not the worst thing in the world anymore,'" a friend told 29-year-old Ian Smith, whose eyes were still wet after attending a performance. "And you see this play and you're like, 'The '80s seem a long time ago, and yet we're still making the same dumb mistakes.'"

"I was surprised how much stigmas have persisted, that people with HIV/AIDS are even now stigmatized," said Alexandria Jacobson, a 19-year-old lesbian who conducts HIV outreach work among high school students. "So many gay people are still afraid to tell their families that they are HIV-positive. ... Some gay people still don't feel they're worthy of acceptance if they have HIV/AIDS."

"I feel in this lifestyle being safe, there's only so much you can do," said Shawn McIntyre, 19 and gay. Asked if he was always safe sexually, he laughed nervously and said, "I try to be. I try to be."

Jerry Mitchell, a Tony Award-winning choreographer, said even some young Broadway performers involved in AIDS fundraising have told him after seeing the play, "'I had no idea about any of this.'" "The reality is, when you're young, you can't imagine anything killing you, whether it's bullets or AIDS."

"The Normal Heart" runs through July 10, with plans for a U.S. tour and a London production.

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