You Were There 2
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Transcript of You Were There 2
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.