papp was a pioneer in a commitment to non-traditional casting, using a variety of ethnicities and colors of actors in his new plays and shakespeare productions. the father of a gay son, tony, papp aligned himself with gay and lesbian concerns in at least two specific instances. he fought anti-obscenity provisions that congress briefly imposed on the national endowment for the arts during the reagan presidency, and he chose to produce "the normal heart", which decried institutionalized "homophobia" as well as mayor koch's response to the aids crisis.