ju s t ou* ▼ July 2 1 .
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Robert Sella
nudity, same-sex couplings and foul-mouthed po
litical harangues make the play vivid, honest and
compelling. Frank sexual dialogue between gay
couples, and comic relief in the gossip and jokes of
yesterday’s sexual activities, make the play incred
ibly effective to a gay and lesbian audience. The
two-part play works best if seen in sequence,
although many stage fans feel that each part stands
on its own, especially if theatergoers study the
detailed program to pick up events in the other
play.
Angels in America tells the story of two New
York couples; the action starts in 1984. The first
couple is a gay-male pair. Louis— intense, Jewish,
guilt-ridden—has just buried his grandmother. His
lover of four and a half years, Prior, has bad news
to share—he’s just been diagnosed with AIDS.
Louis, who can be brutally honest, tells Prior that
he cannot deal with illness, he can’t face death. The
relationship flounders as Prior is hospitalized.
The second couple is a Mormon husband-and-
wife pair. Joe, a promising young lawyer who
works as chief clerk for a Federal Court in New
York, is acting strange. He “takes long walks” late
at night to unsavory spots in Central Park. His wife.
Harper, is close to a nervous breakdown—she
downs handfuls of Valium to make it through the
day. When Joe’s secret homosexual lifestyle sur
faces, he meets and is attracted to Louis. He leaves
his wife and moves in with Lou.
The real-life Roy Cohn, the notorious
homophobic gay political figure, is also being
treated for AIDS, but he insists that it’s “liver
cancer.” He pulls strings to get in on the then-rare
AZT treatment. He wants Joe to take a job in
Washington. D C., and become one of “Roy’s
Boys”: specially placed, bright young men who
will do favors for Cohn as he faces disbarment and
other legal battles.
At the peak of this sweeping soap-opera tale of
domestic lives, an Angel crashes through the roof
to tell Prior that he is a prophet and the future of the
world depends on him. Part One ends. Wow! Talk
about a plot complication.
In Part Two, Prior is a reluctant prophet. The
story continues with the arrival of Joe’s mother
from Utah (“the only unpleasant Mormon I’ve ever
met,” one character notes), a visit to Heaven (“a
city much like San Francisco”), and the interweav
ing of the lives of the key characters (when Joe’s
mother becomes involved in Prior’s care, Prior
Angels is the success of this double casting. The
women in the original New York production were
so well cast and so successful in creating male and
female characters that few opening night critics
noticed that the doubling continually crossed gen
der lines and omitted the “rave” reviews the ac
tresses truly deserved.
The July 26 Portland première of Angels in
able by calling 796-0200.
Angels in America plays a combination of mati
nees and evenings, with ticket prices ranging from
$5 to $40. That’s not a misprint. Portland’s Broad
way Theater Season is aware that many people who
will want to see Angels cannot afford traditional
theater ticket prices, and it has established the $5
price range. Portland Opera and PBTS deserve a
Left to right: Peter Birkenhead, Kate Goehring and Philip Earl Johnson
introduces her as “my ex-lover’s lover’s Mormon
mother” ).
A host of other characters populate the story—
all played by the basic cast of eight actors. Play
wright Kushner wrote the play to be performed
with the limited cast and incorporates gender
bending into the script. Most of the untraditional
casting finds the women in the cast doubling in
men’s roles. One key to individual productions of
America is a benefit for the fifth annual “Fabric of
Life” fund-raiser. A gala will take place in the
theater lobby and in the street out front prior to the
opening. Hors d’oeuvres and wines will be fea
tured at the pre-curtain sidewalk cabaret perfor
mance of Summer Angels, Some Are Not, and
desserts, champagne and coffee drinks will high
light the two intermissions. Benefit prices start at
$25. Complete details on the fund-raiser are avail-
loud round of applause for their sensitivity and
concern. Complete ticket information is available
through TickctMasterat 224-4400. Signed perfor
mances for the deaf and hard of hearing are sched
uled for July 28 and Aug. 4.
If you’re only going to see one stage event this
year, make it Angels in America. It truly is a
theatrical event that will never be forgotten by gay
or lesbian stage fans.