FORT COLLINS, Colo.

Pulling at the heart and evoking tears, Colorado State University’s production of Larry Kramer’s, “The Normal Heart,” revealed the humanity behind the classic play and its lasting impact on audiences.

Based on the life-story of the playwright himself, the show revolved around the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. From the U.S. government’s lack of interest in preventing the disease to the tensions that boiled within society, “The Normal Heart” highlighted the human connections during one of the largest epidemics in recent history. 

The play follows a group of gay men as they urge the American society to heed the danger of AIDS, some going as far as to proclaim that men should stop having sex in order to prevent the disease from further spreading. Despite their united interest in the cause, not every man is eager to publicly identify his sexuality, leading to betrayal and loss within the group of friends.

“There really were a lot of heroes depicted in the story,” said Dr. Wesley Longacre, the show’s director. “The amount of discrimination, the harassment and marginalization that this community faced at the time, it is representative of the now.”

With the reality of the play at the forefront of the production team’s mind, CSU decided to not only showcase the AIDS epidemic, but to do so in a manner that caused a greater impact on the audience.

Rather than transpiring in a proscenium theater, the show was set in a black-box theater. Without a raised stage, the close proximity between actor and audience revealed the intensity of each moment, increased the emotion of each scene and landed a powerful blow by the play’s heart wrenching end.

Between the initiation of each scene, members of the cast came on stage, each clutching a piece of white chalk in their hand. With a sound akin to glass scraping upon glass, the cast scrawled the names of the AIDS victims on the black stage floor.

By the show’s conclusion, there was barely a spot that remained bare.

As audience members filtered out of the theater, many paused to read the names. Tears filled the eyes of some, while others stood with their mouths gaping open as they gazed at a stage littered with the names of the dead.

An uncomfortable hum vibrated through the audience as they gathered in the theater’s lobby. “The Normal Heart[’s]” message was all too real for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I’m a bisexual individual and knowing that people whom I care about, people near me and a world that I’m close to are being affected by things like this, it’s hard,” said CSU performance major, Ethan Bowen, after the performance. “Things are difficult.”

Despite the weight of the play and its connection to reality, Bowen was reminded of how important it is to keep fighting to not be overlooked.

“When tempers are high and everything is tough because everyone feels so strongly about something, it’s okay to keep fighting and it’s okay to keep loving,” Bowen said.