For those of us who weren’t around during the onset of the
AIDS epidemic in the United States, it can be hard to imagine how much
terror the disease must have inspired, when no one quite knew what it
was or how it was transmitted. As Is, from newish, gay-themed
theater company Key Productions, does a fine job communicating the
panic and uncertainty of those early days, as well as the desperate,
against-all-odds compassion and courage of those who struggled to
understand and fight the disease.
Saul (Michael Teufel) is a gay man living in New York City,
seemingly the only man in his social sphere who hasn’t come down with
the swollen glands or chronic fatigue that indicate the onset of the
disease. Saul and his lover, Rich (David Berkson), were the perfect
couple until Rich left Saul for the “shallow, callow”—but very
pretty—Chet (Andy Hillstrom). When Rich contracts HIV, he returns
to live with Saul, who cares for him as he slowly weakens.
The core of the story—Rich’s sickness and decline—is
supplemented by a cast that shifts fluidly from role to role, as
doctors, lovers, and family members who experience the illness in
different ways. Teufel and Berkson work well together as long-suffering
Saul and acerbic Rich—Teufel in particular endows Saul with
enough human weakness that his sacrifices for Rich are all the more
compelling.
The script is relentlessly complex, raising more questions than it
answers. Is Rich’s sister-in-law right to ask that Rich stay away from
her children, when no one really understands what the disease is or how
it is transmitted? What does it mean to come to terms with the
inevitability of your own decline and death?
While the literal relevance of the script has diminished in an age
when the virus is better understood (at least in the US), As Is reads today as an argument for basic human kindness, a testament to the
bravery that treating others like human beings sometimes requires. It’s
a solid show, and it bodes well for future work from Key.