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Regional Reviews: Phoenix Angels in America: Millennium Approaches Also see Gil's review of Oliver! in Concert
Dealing with stress, strain and the realities of life, and set across a wide range of topics that touch upon religion and politics, Kushner has crafted an interconnected story of two couples in turmoil, the Mormon husband and wife Joe and Harper and the gay couple Louis and Prior. With the subtitle of "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," the play shows the impact of HIV as well as the hypocrisy of the conservative Republicans during the AIDS crisis, via a fictionalized version of the real life, closeted, and ultra-Republican lawyer Roy Cohn, a Joseph McCarthy protégé who ends up contracting HIV and having some connection to the two couples. While it is a long play, it is never boring, and Kushner's characters are fully fleshed out and realistic with plenty of warts, yet they also exhibit many traits that allow us to root for them. Kushner's dialogue crackles and he knows how to write great scenes. These include combining interactions between actual and imaginary characters, moments where characters from the past intermingle with the present, and scenes that explode with passion and fireworks. However, some of the events in Angels don't have as much of an emotional impact today as they did when the play first premiered over twenty years ago. The advances in HIV medication since the mid '90s make the sudden death sentence of that diagnosis have less meaning, and a few small things, like Harper's constant mention of her anxiety about the hole in the ozone layer, while still a concern today, just seem a bit shoe-horned in as a way to be topical. However, while a few of Kushner's scenes can also seem a hair too overwrought, it all still manages to connect with a 21st century audience due to characters and situations that are identifiable and the issue of hypocrisy beneath the hope that is still prevalent today. Dering has a clear sense in his direction, managing to get solid portrayals from the entire cast. He also has a firm grasp on how the exceptional, mystical moments of the play build out of the ordinary. From the hallucinatory Valium-induced dreams that Harper experiences to Prior's calls from an angel, the simple yet effective use of sound and lighting effects provides a theatrical sense to instill these scenes with both terror and splendor. Drew Swaine embodies Prior, the protagonist of the piece, with a strong sense of pride, commitment, and conviction, but also exhibits a soulful vulnerability underneath. Vickie Hall perfectly captures the absolute mess of a woman that Harper is but with a clear portrayal on how fragile she is as well. Mike Largent has a good grasp on Louis, providing multiple layers to the high strung, argumentative, neurotic Jewish law clerk, yet he could portray a touch more of the emotional mess that Louis should be and the guilt he feels for leaving Pryor. We see the longing he has for Prior, but don't quite get the pain he should feel as well. Thomas Hicks is quiet and subdued, which works well for the confused and questioning Joe, but he also is joyful and jubilant as one of Prior's ancestors. As Cohn, Pat Russel isn't quite as biting, malicious, and terrifying as Ron Liebman and F. Murray Abraham, who played the part on Broadway, or even Al Pacino, who appeared in the HBO version. Instead he comes across more as a slimy, quiet, manipulating individual who has sudden outbursts of rage. But it manages to work, for the most part, in that Russel makes Cohn's charm resemble a spider softly pulling people into his web, which is how he gets many people, including Joe, on his side. KatiBelle Collins is superb in several smaller parts, some of which are male roles. The scene she has as Cohn's male doctor—where she tells him that he has AIDS and Cohn tells her that he can't possibly have AIDS because that is something that homosexuals get, and since homosexuals are weak he can't be one as, even though he has sex with men, he isn't weak—is one of Kushner's best written scenes and both Russel and Collins make it crackle. Brandi Bigley also plays several parts, all with skill, instilling a heightened, frantic sense to a crazed homeless woman; a calming demeanor to a nurse; and a powerful strength to the Angel. As Belize, Prior and Louis' friend who plays an even more significant role in Part II, Raheem De'Angelo infuses the character of the sassy caretaker and ex-drag queen with an all knowing power along with appropriate glances and body language. Dering also designed the smart, multi-level set that allows for six different playing areas, and with just minimal set pieces, lets the piece flow seamlessly without any large scenic changes. The small Hormel Theatre stage, though larger than where Nearly Naked usually plays next door, still allows a heightened sense of intimacy in how Dering stages most of the action just a few feet from the front row of the audience. The only downsides are the use of two partial picnic tables to portray numerous items such as a hospital bed, a table in a bar and Prior and Louis' bedroom; a picnic table doesn't quite allow enough room for two people to lay on top, or portray the high end bar where Roy and Joe are supposed to have drinks, so it just ends up mostly looking odd. Doug Loynd's costume designs afford period and character appropriate pieces, including a stunning Angel costume, though the staging of the Angel's arrival is a bit of a letdown and doesn't quite have the impact it should. While there were a few very small technical glitches the night I attended, Clare Burnett's lighting design and Patti Swartz's sound design are cleverly used to focus our attention on the right playing area as well as provide some heightened theatrical moments, especially around the Angel's arrival. While the impending Millennium, which worked so well during the Broadway run in the '90s to instill a sense of urgency to the piece, is long gone, there is still much relevance to the piece concerning the political struggles of the gay movement and the falseness of people on both sides of politics. It's impossible to do justice in a few paragraphs to this play's significance and how it brought the AIDS crisis to the forefront of the arts world, even more so than plays like The Normal Heart did before. It also continued the importance of plays centered on gay characters. If you've seen the play before, you will find much to like and admire in Nearly Naked Theatre's production. If you've never seen this show before, you owe it to yourself to experience it, and Dering is presenting a solid production of Kushner's opus. Also, when I first saw Angels on Broadway back in 1993, Kushner was still writing Part II so we had to wait almost six months before the second part opened to find out how the intricate and mesmerizing story ends. Fortunately for theatregoers in Phoenix, you only have to wait a few days. Angels in America runs through June 20th, 2015, with performances at Phoenix Theatre's Hormel Theatre at 100 E. McDowell in Phoenix. Tickets can be purchased by calling (602) 254-2151 or at nearlynakedtheatre.org. Director: Damon Dering Cast:
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