'Glee' creator Ryan Murphy to Potentially Make Film Adaptation of 'The Normal Heart'

Sorry for being away for so long H|U readers. I spent this past weekend in New York City, seeing four shows (two musicals and two plays) with my mother as we happily soaked up all that my favorite city had to offer.

My two favorite shows were the Catch Me If You Can musical (based off Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hank's 2002 film) and the play The Normal Heart. What originally attracted us to The Normal Heart was my mom's love of the actor Jim Parson's who has a main role on the Big Bang Theory. However, what stuck with me after the show was the moving story and the phenomenal acting from Joe Mantello, Ellen Barkin and the rest of the strong cast. The Normal Heart tells the story of a gay activist in the early '80s when hundreds of gay men were mysteriously dying from an unknown disease (later identified as AIDS). This activist and others like him were desperately trying to get the disease noticed and researched when few in the government were willing to listen. It was a very touching story and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. We were lucky to have seen the show. It's been selling out each performance and will only be on Broadway through July 10. However, Glee creator Ryan Murphy has plans to make its run a little more permanent.

His interest in making a film, potentially starring Mark Ruffalo, is not surprising. He wrote the screenplay to the film adaptation of Augusten Burrough's Running With Scissors and has made Kurt, the most outspoken, openly gay character on Glee, a prominent figure in the last season. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Murphy said, "I am moving forward with it. I have a couple great casting ideas. I’m having a big meeting with CAA about it, about where to do it, how to do it. I love Larry’s play. I’m so thrilled that he and the play finally got all this recognition. I think it’s a story that needs to be told. It’s a beautiful love story."

Below is an especially moving scene between the main character Ned Weeks (Joe Mantello) and his straight brother Ben (Mark Harelik). While I like Glee and think that the show has some strong actors, I'm not sure that Murphy has proven his creative depth. The main problem with the Glee story line is the fact that it rarely touches on the parts of the characters that may not be important to that particular episode. So you forget that Tina had a stutter or that Kurt feels left out until it's brought up in one episode specific to those issues. Without the consistency of characters, the show loses some credibility. What do you think? Does Murphy have what it takes to make such an important and potentially moving film?