Joe Mantello, Victor Garber, Patrick Wilson & More Sign On for Benefit Reading of The Normal Heart

Wicked director Joe Mantello will return to the stage for the first time in more than 15 years when he plays the leading role of Ned Weeks in the forthcoming 25th anniversary benefit reading of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart. Joining Mantello, who last acted in Angels in America (as Louis Ironson) in 1994, will be Victor Garber, Jason Butler Harner, John Benjamin Hickey, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Patrick Wilson. Additional casting will be announced.

As previously announced, Tony Winner Joel Grey, who played Ned in the original production, will direct the one-night-only reading. The Normal Heart focuses on the terrifying early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York. The reading will take place on October 18 at 7:30PM at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund and Friends In Deed.