The things we trade...

Mr. RT took me to see The Trading Floor last night.

Collaboration Town, a new theatre group, presents the world premiere of The Trading Floor, written and directed by the company. The Trading Floor is based on the actions of seven members of ACT-UP, the radical AIDS activist organization. On September 14, 1989, the men made their way onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange to protest the unconscionably high price of AZT, which at that time was the only AIDS medication available. Trading on the floor was halted for the first time in history. Burroughs Wellcome, the company that distributed AZT, complied with the demands and lowered the price of the drug by 20%. The Trading Floor is an 'imagined true story' loosely based on interviews with the surviving men who participated.

It was interesting and well acted but, most of all, it was a reminder that we were part of that history, we are part of that story. It also made me realize that the whole ACT UP thing is ripe to be made into brilliant pieces of entertainment: what a wonderful thing it was at it's peak.

Afterwards we had dinner at Kelley & Ping and conversation returned to more mundane (but equally amusing) subjects. Fun was had. Thank you, Mr. RT!