Rachel Caduri

Jacob Gallagher-Ross

Theatre History 302

30 April 2015

You Were There

The New York Times Review of “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches”

Broadway, Walter Kerr Theater, May 22nd 1993

“Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” played to a full house of 975,

yesterday evening on the stage of the Walter Kerr Theater. The play, written by Tony

Kushner, was recently nominated for nine Tony Awards including, but not limited to,

Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play by Ron Leibman, and Best

Direction of a Play by George C. Wolfe. After seeing last night’s performance, I can

honestly say those nine nominations were well earned. “Millennium Approaches”, which

opened at the beginning of the month, is the first part of Kushner’s series “Angels of

America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes”. It is rumored that the second part,

“Perestrokia” will make it’s Broadway debut within the next year.

Last night’s production starred Joe Mantello as Louis Ironson, Stephen Spinella as

Prior Walter, David Marshall Grant as Joe Pitt, Marcia Gay Harden as Harper Pitt, and

Ron Leibman as Roy Cohen. Also among Leibman for nominations, are Marcia Gay

Harden as Harper Pitt for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, and Stephen

Spinella as Prior Walter and Joe Mantello as Louis Ironson for Best Performance by a

Featured Actor in a Play. Though I have not seen all the productions of this season, I see

great things for these actors and this play, specifically Ron Leibman, who’s performance

as Roy Cohen, a closeted homosexual lawyer who has contracted HIV/AIDS, was

absolutely remarkable. Leibman brought power and strength to a role that is painted in

quite a negative light through out the play. I particularly enjoyed the scene towards the

end of Act 1 between Henry, portrayed by Kathleen Chalfant, and Roy where he dares

Henry to call him the h-word, that being homosexual and not hemophiliac. The intensity

and depth, as well as purpose, that Leibman puts behind each word is sure to put him in

high consideration for the Tony. I also very much enjoyed the work of Joe Mantello and

David Marshall Grant. The sense of relationship they are able to create between Louis

and Joe is magic. The chemistry between the two characters is evident right from the start

when the two meet in the bathroom as Louis is crying. When portraying characters of

distinct demographics it’s very easily to fall into the trap of playing stereotypes, but that

was not an issue last night. All the actors, but specifically Mantello and Spinella, brought

depth to their characters and shied away from playing into the generalizations society

places on homosexuals. Spinella is another favorite of mine for this years awards. He

brought both humor and honesty to the role of Prior Walter. He creates a character that

the audience is just drawn to.

Not only do the actors of “Millennium Approaches” give award worthy

performances, the scenic and lightening design are up for consideration as well. Robin

Wagner’s imaginative sets pair well with the script, enhancing the twisting plot. Fellow

New York Times writer, Frank Rich, wrote a review earlier this month in which he

describes the set as a “delicate, stylized heaven”. Jules Fisher’s lighting design also

helping to create a world that the audience is drawn too, especially in the final scene of

the play.

Another thing to be mentioned about the ending of the show is the costumes, done

by Toni-Leslie James. The Angel, played by Ellen McLaughlin, comes crashing through

the ceiling dressed exactly like one would picture an angel to be dressed. She wears a

magnificent white gown that drapes to one side and has gold ties fastened in a corset like

manner along her bust. And not to be forgotten are her glorious and powerful wings,

which were crafted so beautifully. The entire ensemble adds to the strength of the

character as she bursts in, standing above Prior’s bed, and says “The Great Work begins:

The Messenger has arrived.” The rest of the costumes, while not as complicated, help

take the audience back to what life was like 8 years ago in 1985.

Overall, it’s an incredibly well done production of “Angels in America:

Millennium Approaches”, and I would not be surprised if the Tony’s proved to be a

successful evening for the production. Beyond just this production I thought that “Angels

in America” was an absolutely amazing story. I loved how each of the characters

portrayed something very telling of the new millennium. And the relationships between

one set of characters drew a parallel between another. By that, I mean that of Harper and

Joe and Louis and Prior. These two drew such a comparison for me as an audience

member because both Louis and Joe felt like they were trapped in a relationship that they

didn’t want to be in any more. So, they leave their respective members to get away, to

find something new that they’ve always wanted. For Joe, that’s a relationship, sexual or

otherwise, with a man and for Louis, that’s loving someone that’s not going to die. Both

Harper and Prior are both settling into an illness, i.e. Harper’s addiction to pills and

Prior’s oncoming AIDS. I loved the scene where they meet in the boudoir, both of their

hallucinations mixing together. As Joe and Louis find each other in real life, Harper and

Prior find each other in their fake realities, where they are both “free from illness” as

Harper says.

            In this story, illness is such an interesting concept. Even though there’s Harper

and Prior, two people whose illnesses are easily pegged, the rest of the cast of characters

have illnesses that aren’t as widely talked about. Louis leaves the man he loves because

he cannot stand to look at the lesions Prior has grown or deal with him struggling just to

get to the bathroom, only to defecate pure blood. Joe can’t say he loves his wife or

respond to her in any affectionate way other than calling her buddy and is hiding a part of

him behind his Mormonism. Hannah refuses to believe that her son might be gay and tells

Joe to forget that he and her talked at all. These illnesses are accepted by society because

these people are just going through some things, much like everyone else in the world.

Roy is the only person where he has an illness, but doesn’t shy away from it in the way

the other characters do. Here is a man who has committed horrible acts, such as the

persecution of Ethel Rosenberg in the Rosenberg Trials, but knows that he is showing the

beginning symptoms of KS. He says that he’s not a homosexual, but engages in sexual

acts with men. He’s not a homosexual because they “have no clout” in his business. He

knows this through and through while talking with the doctor and dares the doctor to call

him out on the fact that he’s not a junkie. Yes, he and the doctor agree to call his illness

something else than what it is and, no, he doesn’t own what he is, but he owns what he’s

done. He doesn’t hide it away for reasons of moral integrity, but for political integrity.

Whether that is better or worse is not for me to say, but for the character to decide upon.

            And when you look at how these diseases are accepted, Harper and Prior’s are

not. Harper sees Mr. Lies, a fictitious character her pill-addicted mind has created, who

whisks her off to Antarctica. Prior sees a giant book come out of the ground, hears his

nurse speaking heavy Hebrew, is visited by past Prior’s in his family lineage, and sees a

beautiful angel who comes out of his ceiling and gets him erect every time he thinks

about her. Now when one hears all of this, they might be a little skeptical as to whom the

true crazy people are in this scenario. But, these two aren’t accepted because they are

written off as unable to be helped and not given anyone real to connect with. That’s why I

think it’s so important that when they see each other in their hallucination, there’s finally

someone who understands, who won’t put them in a corner.

As a whole, the Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America:

Millennium Approaches” left nothing to be desired and is a must-see this Broadway

season.

Works Cited

"1993 Tony Awards ~ COMPLETE." YouTube. YouTube, 1 June 1993. Web. 6

May 2015.

Frantzen, Allen J. Before the Closet: Same-sex Love from Beowulf to Angels in

America. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1998. Print.

Gainor, J. Ellen. The Norton Anthology of Drama. Second ed. Vol. 2. W. W.

Norton, 2013. Print.

Geis, Deborah R. Approaching the Millennium: Essays on Angels in America.

Ann Arbor: U of Michigan, 1997. Print.

Rich, Frank. "Review/Theater: Angels in America; Millennium Approaches;

Embracing All Possibilities in Art and Life." The New York Times. The New York

Times, 4 May 1993. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

"Q23 Joe Mantello & Stephen Spinella from 'Angels In America' (1993)."

YouTube. YouTube, 1 Sept. 1993. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.