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The Fire Island Pines Arts Project has announced a one-night-only benefit reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at Whyte Hall, Fire Island Pines.
In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Kramer’s landmark play, and in celebration of FIPAP’s 40th Anniversary, two-time Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Suffs, Violet) will direct an all-star cast led by Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, and two-time Oliver Award winner Andrew Scott (Ripley, Fleabag, Present Laughter). Cast includes: Two-time Tony Award nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Girls), Tony Award winner Francis Jue (Yellow Face), Tony Award nominee Katy Sullivan (Cost of Living), 2025 Tony Award nominee Ben Levi Ross (Ragtime, Elsbeth), Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Award nominee Kyle Beltran (A Case for the Existence of God), seven-time Tony Award–winning producer and fashion icon Jordan Roth (Hadestown, Moulin Rouge), two-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, La Cage aux Folles) and LGBTQ+ activists James Dale, Eric Sawyer and Todd Sears, with additional casting to be announced.
The one-night-only event, produced by the Fire Island Pines Arts Project, benefits Broadway for Arts Education, a nonprofit organization that works alongside the Broadway community to expand access to arts education in underserved communities around the world. In tandem with the event, BAE will facilitate an educational program for high school youth that uses intergenerational storytelling to deepen students’ understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and empower young people to carry these stories forward.
“This dream pairing of Larry Kramer’s seminal play, The Normal Heart, with fundraising for an excellent cause in my most favorite location on earth, the heavenly Fire Island Pines, feels almost too good to be true,” said director Leigh Silverman. “Adding in the jaw-dropping magnificence of this sparkly acting company, I can’t imagine a better or more thrilling way to raise money.”
“This is far more than a reading… it is an act of remembrance, gratitude, and hope,” said event producers Steven Alan Black, Nicole LaFountaine and Skie Ocasio for FIPAP. “As we celebrate forty years of both FIPAP and The Normal Heart, we honor the artists, activists, healthcare professionals, and everyday heroes who stood together during one of our community’s darkest chapters.
Originally premiering in 1985, Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart remains one of the defining works of American theatre. Kramer’s fiercely personal account of the earliest years of the AIDS epidemic challenged a nation to confront silence, stigma, and political indifference while celebrating the courage of those who fought for dignity, compassion, and justice. Forty years later, the play’s themes of activism, resilience, and community remain as urgent and relevant as ever.
