Joel Grey to direct staged reading of 'The Normal Heart' to benefit L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center clinic

Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey will direct a 25th-anniversary staged reading of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" on May 17 at the Geffen Playhouse. The performance will benefit the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

The cast will include Lisa Kudrow, Dylan Walsh, Tate Donovan, Clark Gregg, Jon Tenney, David Eigenberg, Dan Bucatinksy, Tim Bagley and Alec Mapa.

"The Normal Heart" -- Kramer's harrowing look at the early years of the AIDS epidemic -- premiered at New York's Public Theater in April 1985. Grey starred in the production later that year.

The reading, which is being presented by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center and actor David Youse, will benefit its Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic, which provides free and low-cost treatment for HIV/AIDS patients.

Tickets for the show, which begins at 8 p.m. at the Westwood playhouse, can be purchased at www.lagaycenter.org/thenormalheart.

-- Karen Wada

Photo: Lisa Kudrow will appear in the staged reading of "The Normal Heart." Credit: Jason Kempin / Getty Images