"The Normal Heart". Photo by Joan Marcus.
As a revival of Larry Kramer’s fiery The Normal Heart rages on Broadway, a personal storm over the film version of the play has been blazing through the headlines as well. This past weekend, Entertainment Weekly filed a report detailing Kramer’s accusations that Barbra Streisand held the rights to direct a movie of his play for a decade but, because she was unhappy with his screenplay, it was never made. He suggested that the legendary singer/actress/director wanted the script rewritten to pump up her role and marginalize the gay characters.
Yesterday, Ms. Streisand finally responded to these attacks with a long post on her personal website. It begins:
“I’ve endured Larry Kramer’s outbursts in the past, not wishing to dignify them with a response. But at a time when we are all pulling together to achieve such giant steps toward gay equality, it is anguishing to me to have my devotion to this cause so distorted.”
People who need people, indeed.New Orleans
Fear not; a film version of the drama about the early days of the AIDS crisis is still being talked about given the universal acclaim and Tony nods for the Broadway revival–with Babs involved as an actress. An update to the ew.com report states, “The Oscar winner says she would consider playing Brookner [a fictionalized version of Drinflatable camping tents. Linda Laubenstein, a physician who saw some of the earliest HIV cases in New York’s gay community] in Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s planned adaptation starring Mark Ruffalo.”
