As Is (play)

Last updated
As Is
AsIs.jpg
Cover from TV video production
Written by William M. Hoffman
Characters
  • Saul
  • Rich
  • Nurse
  • Chet
  • Barney
  • Brother
  • Lily
  • Pat
Date premiered10 March 1985
Place premiered Circle Repertory Theatre
New York City
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingNew York City

As Is is a 1985 American play written by William M. Hoffman. The play was first produced by Circle Repertory Company and The Glines and directed by Marshall W. Mason. It opened on March 10, 1985 at the Circle Rep in New York City, where it ran for 49 performances. [1]

Contents

The Broadway production, produced by John Glines, Lawrence Lane, Lucille Lortel, and the Shubert Organization, opened on May 1, 1985 at the Lyceum Theatre, where it ran for 285 performances following six previews. [1] The cast included Robert Carradine, Jonathan Hadary, Jonathan Hogan, Lou Liberatore, Ken Kliban, and Claris Erickson. [2]

A London production, directed by Chris Bond and starring George Costigan and David Fielder, ran from 18 August until 26 September 1987 at the Half Moon Theatre. A percentage of the income from the production was donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Synopsis

As Is portrays the effect that AIDS, a relatively new epidemic in the 1980s, has on a group of friends living in New York City. It was one of the early plays, and subsequent TV movies, depicting how the epidemic was affecting gay Americans. As Is opened shortly before Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart .

This play depicts a gay couple, Saul and Richard, who open the play, and their separation. Rich's firm decision to separate is reversed when he returns to Saul after contracting AIDS from his new lover. Seeking emotional support, Rich shows how people with AIDS were treated by the American family, doctors, and friends. Their impersonal and detached attitudes lead Rich to recognize the importance of the partner for the person with AIDS.

The play begins, and ends, with a monologue by a middle-aged, female hospice worker, describing her new patient, Richard. In the second scene, Saul, one of the two main characters, states that he is Jewish while arguing about possessions with Richard, who makes an antisemitic remark and reveals he has AIDS during their ongoing breakup. [1] [2] After Richard's illness worsens, he reconciles with his brother but ultimately asks Saul to buy street drugs so he can use them to kill himself. Saul agrees to do so but has a change of heart after seeing a neon sign from the window of an adult film store. He becomes convinced, and then attempts to convince Richard, that they must find as much joy as possible in the reminder of his life. Before the final monologue of the hospice worker, Saul climbs into Richard's hospital bed for safe sex. [3]

Development

Hoffman began writing As Is in 1982 following the death of four friends from AIDS. [1] [4] Worried that the topic of a friend's death would be too "grisly" for a stage production, he centered it on the two lovers. Although As Is and The Normal Heart were among the first dramatic works about AIDS, the first play about AIDS in New York City was Night Sweat by Robert Chesley, which premiered in May 1984 at the Meridan Gay Theater. [1] What is said to be the "first professionally produced play" concerning AIDS is One by Jeff Hadedorn, which ran in Chicago in 1983. [5]

Hoffman compared the stories he had heard of people with AIDS having been abandoned by their friends and family, as well as being mistreated by healthcare workers, to the stories he had heard about the Holocaust, in which most of his family in Europe had been murdered. [1]

Reception

The play was critiqued for reinforcing the trope of the steadfast partner who doubles as bedside nurse that was common to AIDS performances. [1] It included scenes based in Hoffman's experience as a gay man in the 1980s: where each member of Rich and Saul's friend group were when they first heard of what would be known as AIDS; answering phones at an AIDS hotline; support groups for people with HIV/AIDS. [2] [6] Hoffman's portrayal of a person with AIDS as both a sexual partner and a person deserving of pleasure without shame was a significant break from the prevailing ideology of people with AIDS as both diseased and pariahs.

Although the play addressed numerous AIDS issues and debunked myths surrounding AIDS, it was not overtly political or critical of institutional, over-arching structures that sustained the spread of HIV, unlike The Normal Heart, which closed at the Public only one month after its opening. As Is became a critical and commercial success, including a positive review as "the best new play of the season" by theater reviewer John Simon writing for New York Magazine. [6] Although not provocative, As Is legitimized "AIDS theater" as both critically and commercially viable which led to investments in dramatic works about AIDS by leading producers that mainstreamed awareness to a general audience beyond the lesbian and gay community..

Film adaptation

In 1986, Hoffman adapted the play for a television production directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg starring Hadary, Carradine, and Colleen Dewhurst. Both Hadary and Carradine were nominated for CableACE Awards.

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

Revivals

In 2010, New York's Apple Core Theater Company produced a revival. The play also was produced at London's Finborough Theatre, directed by Andrew Keates. [7] The London production was named critics' choice by the London edition of Time Out magazine, and transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in 2015. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Angels in America</i> 1993 Pulitzer Prize–winning play by Tony Kushner

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is a 1991 American two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, may be presented separately. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. Part one of the play premiered in 1991, followed by part two in 1992. Its Broadway opening was in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Kramer</span> American playwright (1935–2020)

Laurence David Kramer was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London, where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for the film Women in Love (1969) and received an Academy Award nomination for his work.

<i>Torch Song Trilogy</i> Collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein

Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag queen, and torch singer who lives in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The four-hour play begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his cynical disillusionment with love.

True West is a play by the American playwright Sam Shepard, which follows the sibling rivalry between estranged brothers Austin and Lee, who have reconnected. It is set in California, about 20 miles outside of Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley, at their mother's home. It is known for its exploration of themes such as family dynamics, identity, and the American Dream. The play revolves around the volatile relationship between two brothers, Lee and Austin, as they navigate their contrasting lifestyles and aspirations while staying in their mother's house.

<i>The Normal Heart</i> Play by Larry Kramer

The Normal Heart is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall W. Mason</span> American theater director

Marshall W. Mason is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in 1983. In 2016, he received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.

Theatre Rhinoceros, Theatre Rhino, or The Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre in San Francisco. Theatre Rhinoceros claims to be the world's longest-running professional queer theatre company. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet and his late partner Allan B. Estes, Jr.. The name is based on the lavender rhinoceros, a symbol popularized by the Boston gay community in the mid-1970s. It is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the production of plays by and about gay and lesbian people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William M. Hoffman</span> American playwright, theatre director, editor, and professor

William M. Hoffman was an American playwright, theatre director, editor, and professor.

Lawrence Lane is a theatrical producer who is best known as one of the original producers of Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song Trilogy". Lane, who served as Managing Director for The Glines, produced the play in 1978 with his lover John Glines, who served as the company's Artistic Director. The show was moved to Broadway with the help of producers Kenneth Weissman and Martin Markinson. The show opened at the Little Theatre, now the Helen Hayes, on June 10, 1982, and ran through May 19, 1985. The production won the 1983 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play.

<i>The Lisbon Traviata</i>

The Lisbon Traviata is a 1989 American play by Terrence McNally premiered Off-Broadway. It revolves around several opera fans, especially of the opera singer Maria Callas, and their gay relationships.

Jonathan Hadary is an American actor.

Founded in 1976 by John Glines, Barry Laine and Jerry Tobin, The Glines is an American not-for-profit organization based in New York City, New York, devoted to creating and presenting gay art to develop positive self-images and dispel negative stereotyping.

John Glines was an American playwright and theater producer. He won a Tony Award and multiple Drama Desk Awards during his producing career.

Victor Bumbalo is an American actor and playwright.

<i>The Baltimore Waltz</i>

The Baltimore Waltz is a play by Paula Vogel. It revolves around a brother and sister who appear to be taking a European trip and is based on Vogel and her brother Carl's real-life experiences. The play had a workshop at the Perseverance Theatre in 1990, it was first staged at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1992 and made its off-Broadway premiere later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doric Wilson</span> American dramatist

Doric Wilson was an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist.

<i>As Is</i> (film) 1986 television film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg

As Is is a 1986 American television film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. It was adapted by William M. Hoffman from his 1985 play of the same title. The film stars Jonathan Hadary, Robert Carradine, Colleen Dewhurst and Joanna Miles. It premiered on Showtime on July 27, 1986. Several networks rejected the TV adaptation. Hadary and Carradine were both nominated for CableACE Awards. The movie centers on a group of gay male friends dealing with AIDS in New York City.

Snapdragon Productions is a London theatre company run by producer Sarah Loader and director Eleanor Rhode.

The Triangle Theater Company was founded in 1980 by David M. Hough in Boston, Massachusetts. Triangle Theater was created to establish a place for theater by and about gays and lesbians. The company was a member of the Gay Theatre Alliance, created in 1978 to help develop and promote gay and lesbian theater across the country.

Biello & Martin are a songwriting duo working in dance, theatre, and film. Independently, Michael Biello is a lyricist, performance artist, and ceramic sculptor. Dan Martin is a composer and music producer. They are best known for creating performance works which promote love, spirituality, and self-expression through a Queer lens. As LGBTQ+ cultural activists, they also founded Outmusic, an LGBTQ+ music organization, and have been romantic life-partners for over 40 years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Friedman, Jonathan C. (2007). Rainbow Jews: Jewish and Gay Identity in the Performing Arts. Lexington Books. pp. 89–90. ISBN   978-0-7391-1448-3.
  2. 1 2 3 Rich, Frank (11 March 1985). "Stage: 'As Is', About AIDS, Opens". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. Pastore, Judith Laurence (1993). Confronting AIDS Through Literature: The Responsibilities of Representation. University of Illinois Press. p. 104. ISBN   978-0-252-01989-0.
  4. Pastore, Judith Laurence (1993). Confronting AIDS Through Literature: The Responsibilities of Representation. University of Illinois Press. p. 40. ISBN   978-0-252-01989-0.
  5. Morgan, Scott C. ”AIDS: 30 Years of AIDS on the Stage” Windy City Times. September 21, 2011. first professionally produced play,with his newly diagnosed disease.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Roman, David (1998-02-22). Acts of Intervention: Performance, Gay Culture, and AIDS. Indiana University Press. pp. 58–60. ISBN   978-0-253-21168-2.
  7. "As Is - 2013 Productions - Finborough Theatre". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  8. "William M Hoffman's As Is to run at Trafalgar Studios | News | The Stage". The Stage. 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2018-05-30.