Tony award-winning play The Normal Heart lands at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco for a limited run September 13–October 7, 2012. Here’s an early photo preview of the production.

Larry Kramer’s landmark 1985 drama unfolds like a real-life political thriller as a tight-knit group of friends refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the media bury the truth about an epidemic ravaging the gay community. Their differences could tear them apart—or change the world. Kramer’s unapologetic tackling of the early days of the AIDS epidemic, gay marriage, and our national healthcare system casts theatrical light on issues that are as present in today’s national discourse as they were when the play first premiered.

Directed by George C. Wolfe, the cast features Patrick Breen in the role of Ned Weeks, the fiery writer and activist at the center of the play. He is joined by Jordan Baker, Tom Berkund, Matt McGrath, Michael Berresse, Sean Dugan, Jon Levenson, Nick Mennell, and Bruce Altman.

First produced in 1985 by Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater, where it ran for 294 performances, The Normal Heart immediately became a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. An unflinching and unforgettable play that remains pertinent and prescient, Kramer’s unapologetic tackling of the AIDS epidemic, gay marriage, and our national healthcare system cast theatrical light on issues that are as present in today’s national discourse as they were when the play first premiered a quarter of a century ago.

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Says A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff: “The company that we’ve assembled for this San Francisco outing of The Normal Heart is extraordinary in every way—we’re thrilled to welcome our old friend Matt McGrath back to A.C.T. after his triumph in The Black Rider, and to welcome Patrick Breen and these other remarkable talents to our stage for the first time. We know these wonderful actors will deliver the vivid emotional truth of the play, and we can’t wait to share their work with our audience.”

Photo Preview: The Normal Heart at A.C.T. in San Francisco