Wayne Wilcox, Mark Harelik & Richard Topol Complete the Cast of The Normal Heart

Complete casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway production of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart. Broadway vets Mark Harelik, Richard Topol and Wayne Wilcox join the company as Ben Weeks, Hiram Keebler/Examining Doctor and David, respectively. The play will begin a limited 12-week engagement at the Golden Theatre on April 19 and open on April 27, directed by Anything Goes star Joel Grey, with assistance from George C. Wolfe.

Harelik, Topol and Wilcox join the previously announced Joe Mantello as Ned Weeks, Ellen Barkin as Dr. Emma Brookner, John Benjamin Hickey as Felix Turner, Lee Pace as Bruce Niles, Jim Parsons as Tommy Boatwright, Patrick Breen as Mickey Marcus and Luke MacFarlane as Craig Donner/Grady.

The Normal Heart, which examines the early days of the AIDS epidemic, 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. The play premiered at the Public Theater on April 21, 1985, for a run of 294 performances. The late Brad Davis opened as Ned and was later replaced by Grey.

Harelik has appeared on Broadway in the Cherry Jones-led revival of Mrs. Warren’s Profession and The Light in the Piazza. Topol’s Broadway credits include the recent production of The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino. Wilcox has been seen on Broadway in Coram Boy and off-Broadway in Suddenly Last Summer and The Great American Trailer Park Musical.

Tony-winner Grey, who is currently in preview performances with Anything Goes and in rehearsals for The Normal Heart, recently chatted with Broadway.com about his busy spring in a Q&A interview.