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Overview

Synopsis

Angels in America is Tony Kushner’s two-part, seven-hour epic, which he describes as “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” In the first part, we meet Louis and Prior and Harper and Joe, two couples whose relationships are on the rocks: the former because of Prior’s AIDS diagnosis and Louis’s inability to cope with illness, the latter because of Joe’s closeted homosexuality and Harper’s incessant fears and hallucinations, as well as her addiction to pain-killers. As we follow these couples’ trials, we come across a handful of other colorful characters, including Roy Cohn, a malevolent, secretly gay Republican lawyer, political power broker, and mentor of Joe’s who is dying of AIDS; Belize, Prior’s ex-lover and a former drag queen who is stuck in the middle of Prior and Louis’s failing relationship; Hannah, Joe’s straight-laced, no-nonsense Mormon mother from Salt Lake, and The Angel, a divine emanation who appears to Prior as a messenger of God to inform him that “The Great Work” is about to begin. Using these characters as mouthpieces, Kushner characteristically dives deeply into political and intellectual themes while generating a vital, living, breathing story, and populating it with characters, both real and fictional, whom we come to both love and abhor.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Mature Audiences (M)
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1993
Genres
Drama, Dark Comedy
Settings
Contemporary, Fantasy/Imaginary, Simple/No Set
Time & Place
New York City, Elsewhere, 1985-1986
Cast Size
medium
Licensor
Samuel French
Ideal For
College/University, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Medium Cast

Context

Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Roy M. Cohn / Prior 2

Lead

Male

Non-singer

Joseph Porter Pitt / Prior 1 / The Eskimo

Lead

Male

Non-singer

Prior Walter / The Man in the Park

Lead

Male

Non-singer

Louis Ironson

Lead

Male

Non-singer

Harper Amaty Pitt / Martin Heller

Lead

Female

Non-singer

Hannah Porter Pitt / Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz / Henry / Ethel Rosenberg

Supporting

Female

Non-singer

Belize / Mr. Lies

Supporting

Male

Non-singer

The Angel / Emily / Sister Ella Chapter / The Woman in the South Bronx

Supporting

Female

Non-singer

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

    A fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn't be available if things go wrong.

    The name used to describe a number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that happen when the body's immune system has been severely damaged by the HIV virus.

    A person (typically one more remote than a grandparent) from whom one is descended.

    A series of events in a performance or piece of literature that are a dream experienced by one of the characters.

    An artistic piece of work composed of a mixture of different forms or styles

    An experience involving the apparent perception of something not present.

    Dislike of or prejudice against gay people.

    A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religion founded in the US in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.

    An award for an achievement in American journalism, literature, or music

    The accepted generic term for the LGBTQ+ theatre movement.

    Supporting the Republican Party.

    A type of scene in which two distinct scenes happen simultaneously on stage.

    The language used by Jewish people in central and eastern Europe before the Holocaust. It is still spoken today, mainly in the US, Israel, and Russia.

Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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