Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

A playscript is a blueprint for a performance--a document that is intended to be interpreted by those trained in theatre arts. For this reason most non-theatre people find reading a play akin to a tour of purgatory: it is often extremely difficult for the layman to imagine how these strings of words on a page will actually play on a stage before a live audience. This is particularly true of Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA, a play which even many theatre arts people (myself included) find very, very flat on the page; consequently, I do not really recommend it for those without a background in theatre arts.

Set in 1980s New York and subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," the play concerns a group of largely homosexual men who find themselves caught up in series of disasters that range from love to religion and from politics to philosophy--and most specifically caught between the rising tide of AIDS and a generally unsympathetic society. In the midst of this, AIDS patient Pior Walter begins to have a series of visions, which may be fever dreams, medicine-induced hallucinations... or, most unnerving of all, real. His long dead ancestors rise to speak to him, the floor cracks open to reveal a burning book--and at the conclusion of the play's first half a beautiful woman with majestic wings crashes through his roof. She is the Angel of America. He is, she tells him, a prophet, and she has come to bring him a message for mankind.

Intertwined with Prior's other-earthly experiences are oddly parallel lives. Joe and Harper Pitt are a deeply dysfunctional couple doubting their faith in the Mormon Church, Joe a closeted homosexual, Harper a valium-addicted and mildly psychotic woman given to visions as strange as those of Prior Walter's. And as further counterpoint historical figure Roy Cohn (1927-1986), among the most sinister figures of 20th Century America, finds himself taunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg as he drifts toward his own AIDS-induced death. The characters swirl in and out of each other's lives and dreams, playing to stereotypes and yet defying them, arguing politics and philosophy and love and death--and it is fascinating stuff. And the play, which ran six hours and had to be performed across two consecutive evenings, astounded theatregoers: nothing similar had been seen on Broadway since the days of Eugene O'Neill's MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA.

But for all of this remarkable vortex of dreams and realities, issues and ideas, there is a tremendous problem with ANGELS IN AMERICA, and even the most casual reader should be able to spot it. When an angel crashes through the roof you naturally expect startling revelations to follow--but having spent the first half of his play building to this amazing climax, Kushner seems to have painted himself into a dramatic corner. The ideas, issues, and characters continue to swirl as brilliantly as before, but the angelic revelations and their gradual unraveling seem to be born more of desperation than of true originality.

Is ANGELS IN AMERICA a play that will resonate through time? It is possible, but I think it unlikely. To return to MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA, that play is very much of its era in terms of style--but it deals with themes and ideas that are of all times and places, and in consequence it remains as powerful today as it was when it startled Broadway some seventy years ago. But ANGELS IN AMERICA is not only stylistically of its place and time, it is also a play that deals specifically with issues peculiar to its place and time, and as our thinking about these issues change the play's authority begins to fade. While it remains required reading (and ideally required viewing) for any one who is seriously interested in theatre, it seems unlikely that it will forever maintain that status.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I've never read a book that has left me with the shocking impact that 'Angels in America' has left me. At first I felt that the book was very confusing with all of the characters, but once the storyline became clear to me, I was able to get into the heart of the matter. Tony Kushner really touches on a subject that affects today's society in an unforgettable way that no other writer has been able to do. His identification with AIDS is profound, although the book takes place at a time when AIDS was still unknown and misunderstood. Today's society may be more accepting of people's different lifestyles, but there is still a division in our beliefs and opinions. Kushner has helped me to believe that just because you are different doesn't mean you are not a human being. It's what's inside of the person that matters the most. It's what the person has to give to others that makes them human beings. Kushner's characters all have a unique personality about them; they are all different. But in the end we find that every person in the book have something in common, and that is what makes them become one in the end. It's what makes them all connected in the same way. Prior and Louis are two of the best characters in the book. Through them, all of the other characters become connected somehow by the end of the book. They all meet under strange circumstances, but it is those odd circumstances that make the book so spectacular. Roy is the most profound character that I have ever come across. He has an incurable disease that is taking his life, yet he remains in denial until the end leaving me with the question of whether the disease ever destroyed him or if he destroyed the disease. I think the two chracters, Joe and Harper, stand for what every person goes through some time in their lives. Our world is full of confusion and decisions, the hardest thing to do is keep yourself straight, so to speak, but Joe and Harper become the victims of an uncompassionate society; a society that abandons them. The issues revealed in this book are issues that most people want to hide from. No one wants to talk about politics, homosexuality, AIDS, or religion, and to combine all these issues in one book was a very bold stand Kushner took. Instead of denying all these issues or brushing them off, 'Angels in America' talks about them just like two guys talking about baseball. These issues were brought to the surface where they remained evident throughout the book wanting me to read more in the end. Although I felt the book was surprisingly full of language and explicit details, details I sometimes think should have been left to my imagination, I can't help but appreciate the truth that it provided for me by being so real and surprising. We live in a sheltered world where we want to shelter our children from all that can harm them, but in the end we don't realize that it is the sheltering that does the most damage to our youth. This book has taught me to never deny or abandon the beliefs I have grown up with or the things my parents have taught me, but at the same time, I should never abandon the person I have become.

This is the best play I've ever read. Actually, it's the best "anything" that I've ever read. I think it could be the best play ever written. It's an amazing mixture of internal and external conflicts. It's a really good commentary on societal and personal relationships. It's a excellent illustration of the lengths that a person will go to, to preserve their reality, regardless of how dysfunctional their reality is. The known is safe, regardless of how bad it is. The characters are incredibly full and alive. As you read, you find yourself identifying with and relating to the characters and their experiences. This play brings out empathy in a way that I have never experienced before. I could read it over and over and not get bored with it. I think this should be a required public school reading text. I think that everyone could benefit from reading this play. If everyone were to read this play, I believe that the world would be a much different place than it is now. I'm a public school teacher. I would love to teach this play, but I know that the "powers that be" would never allow it. However, it doesn't hurt to dream. I am testimony to the fact that you do not have to be a homosexual to identify with this play. This play touches people at a human level. I truly believe that this play would be pertinent across cultural and sexual boundaries. I highly recommend that you read it.

In this epic play, subtitled a Gay Fantasia on National Themes, we follow the lives of a small group of people struggling with AIDS, love, and the meaning of forgiveness. Prior Walter has AIDS, and his lover Louis leaves him because he cannot handle it. Prior is later visited by the Angel, who deems him a prophet, but of what? Louis meets Joe whose marriage is collapsing, and the two find solace in each other. Roy Cohn is one of the most powerful men in America, so he cannot have AIDS because that would be a sign of weakness. Instead, he has cancer. "Angels in America" is a fantastic meditation on love and politics in the beginning years of the AIDS crisis that still has relevance today with its message of greater love and acceptance.

After reading Kushner's two-part play-write I was caught off guard by his use of drama and comedy with such a diverse group of people. He combines homosexual relationships with valium addicted Mormons with angelic visitations, and comes out with a masterpiece. Kushner holds nothing back when discussing some of societies' most important issues. At a time when AIDS, homosexuality, and drug addicts were on the rise Kushner brings these issues up close and personal through the character's lives. I was enlightened by Kushner's on point illustration of American society. This is a wake up call for all of those that think these issues do not exist. Kushner dug deep into some tragedies that can come out of these situations as well. You could almost feel the emotion of the dying AIDS victims and the lonely couple looking for love that is not there. I highly recommend this two-part masterpiece. I have not seen the on stage performance but from what I have read it is brilliant. Kushner put enough detail in the book to put you right there in the story. I cannot even imagine how wonderful the on stage performance must be. This is a work of art that I will never forget.

Before picking up this book I had already categorized and stereotyped the plot, characters, and anticipated my reaction. I visualized a sob story featuring homosexuals who are misunderstood by society, I pictured stereotypical gay men with high-pitched voices, I knew this story would not make my top-ten list. But I have never been more wrong or judgemental about anything I've ever read.

Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" may be one of the most touching accounts depicting American society that i have ever been invited to read. Life is not "sugar-coated" in this play, rather the truth is plainly put out on the table for all to see. The characters in this play are close to the heart and teach us that only the truth will set us free. They are unlikely, yet fitting angels for our generation. We meet Prior, a lonely man dying of AIDS who is the epitome of truth, chosen to prophesize to the masses. Louis and Joe who are both so different yet the same, both realizing the power of the "threshold of revelation". Roy, whose deceptiveness is the cause of his undoing, and Harper who is trapped in a world where the truth has no existence. Yet all of their lives are interconnected by a desire to make sense of the world around them.

Amidst politics and controversy, high drama and comedic relief the characters remaining at the play's end have determined a better sense of self and what it means to be "real". I walked away from Kushner's "Angels" with a better sense of my own self and a more open mind. It was written with a compassion and sensitivity unlike any I've ever known or experienced. "Angels in America" is perhaps one of the most touching theatrical works of its day.

I went out and bought this almost immediately after I watched the HBO miniseries. I must say, Tony Kushner's masterpiece looks very good on screen, and it stays pretty faithful to this book (script) with only a few minor changes, most noticeably in Part Two, Perestroika.
I normally don't like reading plays, finding the stage directions and minimal characterizations ungainly and somehow disappointing. After reading this, though, I have to admit, Angels in America looks fabulous anywhere: stage, screen, or in this case, even on paper.
In the beginning, Kushner gives some "performance notes" about staging. There should be minimal scenery and props, scene changes should be fluid and easy, without the use of blackouts, perhaps suggesting a "single stream of conscious thought onstage." The special effects (flying, magical appearances) need not be perfect; wires may show, and perhaps it is best if they do; as if the magic of the theater is able to express the *magic* on stage.

Reading this script opens a whole new door for people who have only seen the HBO mini-series. And while, I'm sure, seeing it onstage is best, reading the script is still an amazing experience.
What Tony Kushner has accomplished in Angels in America is by and far one of the most extraordinary experiences that one is likely to have the pleasure of benefitting from. I know of no other play, or other dramatic enterprise, that engages the mind so thoroughly, in discussion of some of the most complex and controversial issues of our time, or any time.
When reading this, you may feel overwhelmed. There appears to be so much happening, and the events may seem a complicated and tangled web. However, once you reach the end, to Prior's haunting yet uplifing closing monologue, there is a part of you that will understand it,no matter how small it may be. It sinks in, the message, the beauty, the pure humannes of the story, and you are changed.
The Great Work begins...

I recall the critical reception that Angels in America received at the time of its initial Broadway run. At that time, it was edgy enough to make many audience members uncomfortable --which it would certainly not do today -- yet it also came at just the right moment to be a coming-of-age manifesto for the gay rights movement. Only the boldest of critics would have dared to disparage it during that heydey of political correctness. And it isn't a horrible play; it's only horribly flawed. But it was also perfectly positioned to capture a mass audience. It seemed transgressive enough to lure aging baby boomers into a sense that they were seeing something risque (the same way much simplistic, commercial hip hop does), yet it piled on enough superficial schlock to make them feel good. This is not to say that the plays don't have great moments; they do. These are individuals scenes, individual lines, one or two extended speeches and sequences. These are sufficient to give the plays an illusion of depth, an illusion of grandiosity and significance. But Kushner lacks the vision to make the plays as a whole truly deep, to put his good moments at the service of a great idea (as opposed to a trite, cloying idea). And he lacks the discipline to purge the plays of their truly atrocious moments, which include some incredibly stereotypical characters, redundant monologues that do nothing but bluster and a drawn-out ending so banal and embarrassing that it is shocking to me that someone did not force Kushner to change it. There is also a lot of second-rate let's-laugh-at-the-Republicans-style humor. There are also many religious ideas being thrown around loosely and ultimately put at the service of a formula no more sophisticated than what Harold Bloom identifies in The Anxiety of Influence as Milton's weak Satanic proclamation "[e]vil, be thou my good," which reduces the grandeur of Satan to a mere childish rebellion. If I were to describe the overall feel of the plays, it would be like Dostoevsky's The Possessed (better translated as Demons) being written by Ron Howard.

I am aware that I am bucking the critical tide on this, but I would be surprised if fifty years down the road Angels in America has anything near the status that it does today. We are still too close in time to Angels in America to be able to judge it at the kind of critical distance necessary to separate ourselves from the political and emotional tenor of the moment, on which the plays so strongly depend for their sustenance. Suffice it to say that I have never seen or read another major play nor read a major novel that is so cheap, so full of cliches, so not in control of its own vision. It has, in many ways, all the big flaws of a Hollywood end-of-year blockbuster, which takes whatever good ideas it might have had and ruins them. While the Nichols movie version unquestionably plays up some of the bad stuff, its bigger problem is what it cannot possibly play down, what is, in other words, there in the text.

As a recent reviewer wrote, speaking of the movie version:

"After five and a half hours of taking up your time, what does Angels reward you with? A version of heaven that seems cribbed from those old 'Calvin Klein Obsession' ads, the inane conclusion that God deserves to be 'sued', and the oldest screenwriting cop-out in the book: hinting that it all may have just been a dream. This is followed by a lame Wizard of Oz reference that essentially mocks everything it just attempted to say, and more false endings than Sugar Ray Leonard's boxing career. My grandmother, a wise old schoolteacher-type, used to be fond of reminding people that 'an emptiest barrel makes the most noise.' While Angels in America does have some redeeming qualities and a handful of good performances, what has it really said after taking up six hours of the audience's time? That AIDS is a terrible disease? That there just might not be a God up there watching over us? That, as Woody Allen once said, life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering - and it's all over much too soon? Or perhaps, as Jerry Springer said, that we should take care of ourselves and each other? With all the noise this empty barrel makes, it's amazing that it still manages to be so full of itself."