The Destiny of Me

The Destiny of Me
Cover of the Grove Press paperback edition
Written by	Larry Kramer
Date premiered	October 11, 1992
Place premiered	Lucille Lortel Theatre New York City
Original language	English
Subject	A young man undergoing an experimental treatment for AIDS looks back at his past
Genre	Drama
Setting	National Institutes of Health

The Destiny of Me is a play by Larry Kramer. The play follows Ned Weeks, a character from Kramer's play The Normal Heart. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1992, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

It focuses on Ned Weeks, a character introduced in The Normal Heart, as he checks into the National Institutes of Health to undergo an experimental treatment for AIDS. Much of his story is told in flashback, as Ned recalls growing up as Alexander in a Jewish household where, as a hardcore theatre aficionado, he imitates Cornelia Otis Skinner and Mary Martin and adorns his bedroom with Broadway posters. He constantly is beaten by his father Richard, a government employee who never fulfilled the promise of his Yale education, for being "different" and a "sissy," while his sympathetic but complacent mother Rena fails to intervene. Meanwhile, both parents dote on his brother Benjamin, who grows up to become a successful attorney with a dazzling career.

The play premiered Off-Broadway, produced by the Circle Repertory Company, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on October 11, 1992 and closed on March 21, 1993 after 198 performances. Directed by Marshall W. Mason, the cast included John Cameron Mitchell as Alexander, Jonathan Hadary as Ned, David Spielberg as Richard, Piper Laurie as Rena, and Peter Frechette as Benjamin.