Fracture was written by Scott Giantvalley, an author, poet, playwright, journalist, and scholar, and it opened in 1985 at the now-defunct Fifth Estate Theatre in Hollywood. Its historical significance is considerable: it’s recognized as one of the first theatrical works to deal with the emerging AIDS crisis. According to the blog Gay in the 80s, 1985 was the year the first US plays about AIDS appeared — Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart and William Hoffman’s As Is in New York, alongside Giantvalley’s Fracture in Hollywood. Notably, this came even after London’s Anti Body in 1983, which some consider the very first AIDS play anywhere. Scott Giantvalley’s life partner, Gordon Blitz produced the play.

About the author. Giantvalley was a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and also wrote a book on playwright Edward Albee and created a one-man performance piece called Life After AIDS. He was himself living with HIV/AIDS during this period, which adds poignancy to the play’s subject matter. He died in March 1989, survived by his partner of 15 years. Before his death, he donated his extensive collection of papers related to Walt Whitman to the ONE Institute in Los Angeles.

There was  a 1985 radio interview with Giantvalley about the play — including scenes from Fracture — was recorded for IMRU, the weekly LGBT radio program at KPFK in Los Angeles, and the audio has been preserved by the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives (now part of USC).

Fracture-written by Scott Giantvalley-Produced by Gordon Blitz – YouTube