The Destiny of Me

Larry Kramer's 1985 AIDS drama The Normal Heart gets the Godfather Part II treatment—half sequel and half prequel—in Kramer's semi-autobiographical 1992 memory play, which follows the ongoing medical treatment of activist Ned Weeks and flashes back to his unhappy childhood as a sissy boy in a smothering Jewish household. In this one-night benefit reading for the New Group, Trip Cullman directs an extraordinary cast: Mark Ruffalo as Ned, whom he played in the HBO movie of The Normal Heart, as well Ellen Barkin, Eric Bogosian, Gideon Glick, Josh Hamilton and Lee Pace, with Tony Kushner providing an introduction and Edie Falco reading the stage directions.