As Is

by William M. Hoffman

The time is now, the place New York City. Rich, a young writer who is beginning to find success, is breaking up with his longtime lover, Saul, a professional photographer. The split is particularly difficult for Saul, who still loves Rich deeply, but the mood is one of bantering and ironic humor as they divide their belongings. However Rich's idyll with his new lover is short-lived when he learns that he has AIDS and returns to the goodhearted Saul for sanctuary as he awaits its slow and awful progress. Thereafter the action is comprised of a mosaic of brilliantly conceived short scenes, some profoundly moving, some brightly humorous, which capture the pathos of Rich's relationship with friends and family; the cold impersonality of the doctors and nurses who care for him; and the widely diverse aspects of New York's gay community for which Rich's plight is a chilling reminder of their own peril. In the end the effect of the play is emotionally overwhelming an honest and unsparing examination of a deeply felt human relationship shattered by a mindless, destructive force which cannot be tempered or turned aside.

Genres: Plays, Drama, LGBT, Theatre, Fiction, Queer, M M Romance

77 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Bernard Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une lecture très intéressante. Il va falloir que je la relise pour bien évaluer ce que j’aime dans cette pièce.

Mais en gros, bel usage de dark humour, la théatralisation un peu out there des scènes. Y’avait une vibe qui se dégageait de ce texte. J’aime.

[Neil Schleifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first piece I ever saw produced commercially on Broadway about AIDS and historically is a direct precursor to Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA. Just as in ANGELS, Hoffman's play deals with a pair of gay men in the midst of a break-up when one of them discovers that he has AIDS. Unlike Prior Walter and
Louis Ironson in ANGELS, Hoffman's couple decides to stay together, stick it out and face the world "as is". The play has wildly funny moments that almost counter-balance the heartbreaking one's, and there are many. Frank Rich, in his original NY Times review, quotes a hospice worker -- a sort of narrator/nurse/saint -- who sums up not just her own job, but playwright Hoffman's as well -- "My job is not to bring enlightenment, only comfort". His piece brings a measure of comfort, yes, but also sets off an alarm that Kushner was still sounding eight years later.

[Julene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play was published by William M. Hoffman in 1985. It opened at the Circle Rep off Broadway in March that year, and was so popular it was opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater in May. This play is about two ex lovers, one gets AIDS and the other takes him back and cares for him. Set in the early years of the disease it portrays the fear and how friends and family members reacted. It also shows how important lovers were and the weave of the gay family taking responsibility to care for each other during this crisis. In 1985 it was nominated for a Tony; it won the Drama Desk Award for an Outstanding New Play. It was revived in NYC 2010.

The dialogue is great and there are scenes described that actors can improvise, which makes it a malleable play that can be influenced by the actors and the times. I would love to see it performed.

Check out this trailer without dialogue from a production at Finborough Theatre in London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwdF6...

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5?

read as part of The Way We Live Now: American Plays and the AIDS Crisis but i decided to add them separately

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice play showing the different views, thoughts, and handling of AIDS patients during the height of the epidemic

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read The Normal Heart or Angels in America instead.

[Elizabeth Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this play in college and reread it today. I remembered discussing this play and the discussions around the stigma of AIDS in the 80s/90s. I think seeing this play is more powerful than just reading the lines.

[Zachary Pareizs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spectacularly demonstrates the heart of the AIDS crisis. Moving and profound, though I’m not sure how I feel about the ending and the romance found within.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political, tender and believable. Made me cry on first reading - the honesty and raw power of the dialogue simply bowls you over. I would love to see this performed as the action of the play can be shaped so much by the actors' choices.

[Jaykumar B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have probably read this play now for the sixth time since I have begun working on my dissertation, and every time I stumble across a new layer of meanings, so to speak... so I shall state that which I had stated before,

AS IS is a pioneering work, technically ahead of its time yet so profoundly topical and yet not as political as The Normal Heart; unlike his contemporary Kramer, Hoffman's slap is much more implied.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was apparently ground breaking at the time, but it feels like a minor work in the cannon of "AIDS plays" as crass as that sounds. Funnier than I expected, but I don't think it will stick with me.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty sure I saw the movie in the late 1980s, but I really didn't remember the plot. Strange how much it reminds me of Angels in America. Or maybe not so strange.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first plays to focus on the AIDS epidemic.