Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Part One: Millennium Approaches Part Two: Perestroika (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tony Kushner's Angels in America is that rare entity: a work for the stage that is profoundly moving yet very funny, highly theatrical yet steeped in traditional literary values, and most of all deeply American in its attitudes and political concerns. In two full-length plays--Millennium Approaches and Perestroika--Kushner tells the story of a handful of people trying to make sense of the world. Prior is a man living with AIDS whose lover Louis has left him and become involved with Joe, an ex-Mormon and political conservative whose wife, Harper, is slowly having a nervous breakdown. These stories are contrasted with that of Roy Cohn (a fictional re-creation of the infamous American conservative ideologue who died of AIDS in 1986) and his attempts to remain in the closet while trying to find some sort of personal salvation in his beliefs.

But such a summary does not do justice to Kushner's grand plan, which mixes magical realism with political speeches, high comedy with painful tragedy, and stitches it all together with a daring sense of irony and a moral vision that demands respect and attention. On one level, the play is an indictment of the government led by Ronald Reagan, from the blatant disregard for the AIDS crisis to the flagrant political corruption. But beneath the acute sense of political and moral outrage lies a meditation on what it means to live and die--of AIDS, or anything else--in a society that cares less and less about human life and basic decency. The play's breadth and internal drive is matched by its beautiful writing and unbridled compassion. Winner of two Tony Awards and the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for drama, Angels in America is one of the most outstanding plays of the American theater. --Michael Bronski --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

HBO Films will present Angels in America, directed by Mike Nichols from Tony Kushner’s own adaptation of his Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. The remarkable cast features Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Mary Louise Parker, Jeffrey Wright, Justin Kirk, Ben Shenkman, Patrick Wilson, James Cromwell, Michael Gambon and Simon Callow.

Angels in America is one of the most remarkable and celebrated plays of our time. Over 350,000 copies have been sold in paperback since their original publication in 1993.

Praise for the play:

"Angels in America is the broadest, deepest, most searching American play of our time."—Jack Kroll, Newsweek

"A vast, miraculous play . . . provocative, witty and deeply upsetting . . . a searching and radical rethinking of Ameri-can political drama."—Frank Rich, The New York Times

"Something rare, dangerous and harrowing…a roman candle hurled into a drawing room . . . "—Nicholas de Jongh, London Evening Standard

"Playful and profound, extravagantly theatrical and deeply spiritual, witty, and compassionate, furious and incredibly smart . . . It’s impossible to imagine anyone captivated by the beginning not wanting—needing—to go back for the end."—Linda Winer, Newsday

"An enormously impressive work of the imagination and intellect, a towering example of what theatre stretched to its full potential can achieve."—Clifford A. Ridley, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Perestroika is a masterpiece."—John Lahr, New Yorker

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559362316
• ISBN-13: 978-1559362313
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,100 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumphant landmark of the U.S. theater, August 26, 2001

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2) (Paperback)

Tony Kushner's two part epic play "Angels in America" is
truly a landmark of United States literature. The two parts of the
play (subtitled "Millennium Approaches" and
"Perestroika") together represent a passionate and
intelligent exploration of American life during the era of President
Ronald Reagan. Kushner peoples his play with individuals who are for
the most part "marginal" in some way in U.S. culture. His
characters include Mormons, gay men, men with AIDS, Jews, a drug
addict, and an African-American drag queen. These various perspectives
and voices allow Kushner to create some fascinating dialogues about
the "American dream"--and about the nightmares that can go
along with it.

Kushner's cast of characters is excellently drawn, but
perhaps his most astounding creation is influential lawyer Roy Cohn, a
fictionalized version of a real historical figure. A gay Jew who is
himself viciously homophobic, Kushner's Cohn is grotesque, hilarious,
frightening, and seductive all at once. This character allows Kushner
to make fascinating statements about power, politics, and sexual
identity.

Also brilliant is Kushner's use of Mormonism and its
theology as an integral component of the play. Kushner is the first
literary artist I know of who has used Mormon themes and motifs in
such a consistently compelling and intelligent way. Kushner is, in my
opinion, neither a proselytizer for nor a basher of Mormonism, but his
presentation of troubled Mormon characters and his apparent satirizing
of some aspects of Mormon theology both strike me as potentially
controversial. Because Mormonism is a religion founded in the U.S.,
this aspect of Kushner's play accentuates the essential
"American-ness" of the piece.

Kushner achieves a stunning
blend of politically charged realism and fantastic, even playful
mysticism in "Angels." His writing is sharp and cutting at
times, and elsewhere tender and haunting. And the play is often quite
funny. Although the action of the play focuses on the Reagan era,
"Angels" often takes in a much larger sweep of U.S., and
even world, history.

"Angels in America" is a fascinating
meditation on power and its abuse, on disease and healing, on honesty
to oneself and to others, and on pluralism and bigotry. A masterpiece
of 20th century literature, this is a play to be seen. But whether or
not you have seen it, it is also a work to be read and pondered.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar score, January 28, 2004

By	Birdman (Minnetonka, MN USA) - See all my reviews

With ANGELS, Tony Kushner has accomplished what only a rare few Western writers have managed to do. Integrating biblical knowledge, classical history, myth, poetry and a vast understanding of the human heart in all of its best and worst guises, these plays illuminate with the blinding fire of the angel at its core, the great hypocrisies which lay just beneath the surface of our nation. Like Howard Zinn, and to some extent Studs Terkel, Kushner recognizes that we are not one nation under God. Instead, we seem to be a huge, selfish and confused hoarde attepting to move forward in time with primary moral references to the oldest, and in some ways, least applicable documents and sources of wisdom. Whether one believes that God is "dead" or not, I cannot imagine another work of literature which might promote a more useful theological discussion between so-called liberals and conservatives. Add to this the fact that the stories and characterization are gripping, the heroes are truly admirable and the villains reprehensible. Humans change in profound and permanent ways, and amid the pain of our time, there is -- after a reading of these remarkable plays -- still hope. For once in many years, the Pulitzer Prize moved in the right direction. Whether read or viewed on stage or in its most recent iteration as a superb HBO movie, ANGELS is one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Millenium nears; fear surrounding AIDS begins to melt., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Parts 1 & 2) (Paperback)

Tony Kushner's epic play "Angels In America" is a phenomenal play because of its reality in today's society. There is no other play that I know of that accurately reflects our times and culture on such a controversial issue. The characters in the play become alive and you find yourself alive in each scene with them. Millenium Approaches and Perestroika tells the story of a few people trying to make sense of a cynical and judgmental world. In these characters' daily lives, Kushner deals with controversial issues such as homosexuality, AIDS, mental illness and the social and political problems they encounter. Beneath all the political and moral (religious) outrage, lurks a desire to understand what it means to live and die of AIDS in a world that is disconcerted about human life. Kushner also opens our eyes to the political leaders of the eighties, mainly Ronald Reagan, and their avoidance in dealing with the issue of AIDS. This is keenly shown in the conversations of the characters throughout the play. The choice of title for both parts of the play remarkably ties it all together. As the millenium approaches we can see society is starting to feel some compassion and hope for those suffering with such misfortunes as AIDS and mental illness which have been shrouded with a stigma. The ice is beginning to melt as society and political leaders can no longer avoid these maladies. The cold war, Perestroika, is finally dropping its curtain.