The Destiny of Me
| The Destiny of Me | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the Grove Press paperback edition | |
| Written by | Larry Kramer |
| Date premiered | October 11, 1992 |
| Place premiered | Lucille Lortel Theatre New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A young man undergoing an experimental treatment for AIDS looks back at his past |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | National Institutes of Health |
The Destiny of Me is a 1992 American play by Larry Kramer. The play follows Ned Weeks, a character from Kramer's play The Normal Heart. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1992, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Overview
It focuses on Ned Weeks, a character introduced in
Productions
The play premiered Off-Broadway, produced by the Circle Repertory Company, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on October 11, 1992 and closed on March 21, 1993 after 198 performances. Directed by Marshall W. Mason, the cast included John Cameron Mitchell as Alexander, Jonathan Hadary as Ned, David Spielberg as Richard, Piper Laurie as Rena, and Peter Frechette as Benjamin.[1]
Larry Kramer was nominated for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[2] [3] Kramer won the Obie Award and the 1993 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, and John Cameron Mitchell won the Obie Award, Performance.[1]
A one-night only benefit reading was held of the play in 2018, presented by The New Group. The reading featured Mark Ruffalo reprising his role as Ned Weeks from the film adaptation of The Normal Heart, Lee Pace as Benjamin, Ellen Barkin as Rena, Eric Bogosian as Richard, Gideon Glick as Alexander, and Josh Hamilton as Dr. Thomas Hamilton. Edie Falco read the stage directions.[4]
Critical response
Frank Rich of The New York Times observed, "No one can accuse Mr. Kramer of being a boy who cried wolf. History may judge this impossible, reflexively contentious man a patriot. But what makes The Destiny of Me so fascinating, and at times overwhelmingly powerful, is not so much its expected single-mindedness about AIDS as its unexpectedly relentless pursuit of the crusader at center stage. Mr. Kramer cannot solve the medical mystery of the virus or the psychological mystery of the world's tardy response to the peril. What he can try to crack is his own mystery: Why was he of all people destined to scream bloody murder with the aim of altering the destiny of the human race? The writing in The Destiny of Me can fall short of Mr. Kramer's ambitions, but it is never less than scaldingly honest." He continued, "Not by happenstance is The Destiny of Me a juicy, three-act memory play in the mode of that Arthur Miller-Tennessee Williams era, with occasional flashes of humor reminiscent of latter-day variations on the form by Neil Simon and Herb Gardner . . . Given the conventionality of Mr. Kramer's dramatic format, one sometimes wishes the dialogue fleshing it out were finer. He has a good ear, but it is the ear of a journalist, not a poet."[5]
Film adaptation
In December 2014, After the success of the film adaptation of The Normal Heart, it was reported that Kramer was set to write an adaptation The Destiny of Me for HBO, with Ryan Murphy returning to direct the film, and Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts and Jim Parsons mentioned as potentially reprising their roles.[6]
References
- ^ a b "'The Destiny of Me' 1992" lortel.org, accessed November 17, 2015
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize for Drama" pulitzer.org, accessed November 17, 2015
- ^ Larry Kramer Internet Broadway Database]
- ^ Vine, Hannah (26 June 2018). "See Mark Ruffalo, Lee Pace, Gideon Glick, More at New Group Benefit Reading of Larry Kramer's The Destiny of Me". Playbill. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Rich, Frank. "Theater Review" New York Times, October 21, 1992
- ^ Champion, Lindsay. "Larry Kramer Hard at Work on 'The Normal Heart' HBO Sequel & Hopes the Cast Will Reprise Their Roles" broadway.com, December 10, 2014
