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Coinciding with AIDS 2012, the biennial International AIDS Conference in D.C. July 22-27, 2012, Arena Stage will host a special benefit performance of The Normal Heart along with the Washington AIDS Partnership Monday, July 23 at the Mead Center for American Theater. As the largest private funder of HIV/AIDS prevention, education and advocacy in the region, the Partnership awards more than $1 million in local grants annually. Fundraising from the event will equally benefit Washington AIDS Partnership and Arena Stage. The evening will include a pre-performance VIP Cocktail Hour, intermission champagne toast and a festive after party following the performance.

The event is sponsored by Andrew Ammerman, Dave Caskey and Dale King, the Stephen A. and Diana L. Goldberg Foundation, Randy Griffin with Marriott International, Vicki Hicks, Judy Lynn Prince, Richard Schwartz and Beth Newburger Schwartz, Sheila Stampfli, Grace Terpstra, the Weissberg Foundation, Channing Wickham and Chris Wolf and James Beller.

The media sponsor for The Normal Heart benefit performance is Metro Weekly.

“The Normal Heart was written at a time when there were hundreds of AIDS-related deaths and no one was talking about it,” says Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith. “Larry Kramer’s powerful play gave a voice to the victims of this epidemic. Today, D.C. has one of the highest rates of HIV in the country. We are pleased to be partnering with the Washington AIDS Partnership to spread awareness of the on-going fight against HIV/AIDS.”

The story of a city in denial, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. A quarter-century after it was written, this outrageous, unflinching and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis remains one of the theater’s most powerful evenings ever. The winner of three Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Play, The Normal Heart runs June 8-July 29, 2012 in the Kreeger Theater.

The Normal Heart is an affiliated independent event of the 2012 International AIDS Conference. The AIDS 2012 gathering in Washington, D.C. will be a landmark event as it marks the first time in 22 years that this important conference will take place in the United States.

“I am thrilled that Washington AIDS Partnership is working with Arena Stage on a benefit performance of The Normal Heart,” shares Channing Wickham, executive director of Washington AIDS Partnership. “Not only will the event raise badly needed funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS in our region, but the play is a timely and relevant reminder that the AIDS epidemic is still with us.”