Angels In America
Written by Prevention Department Thursday, 01 December 2011 14:29
“Look up, look up
Prepare the way
The infinite descent
A breath in air
Floating down
Glory to...”
Friday November 18th – December 10th, 2011
The Janie Heart Theatre
Reality Kitchen
245 Van Buren
Eugene, OR 97402
Box Office: (541) 683-1429
Tickets: $15 general admission
by Tony Kushner
Directed By Carol Massahos
Produced By Benjamin Newman & Emily Hart
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of when this Tony Award-winning epic first premiered on Broadway, TRIAL BY FIRE proudly presents the first part of Tony Kushner's gay fantasia on national themes.
Set in New York City at the end of 1985, during the height of Reganism and the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the play focuses on two couples -- word processor Louis and his HIV-infected lover Prior; Mormon Republican law clerk Joe and his mentally ill wife Harper -- as they struggle to stay afloat amidst turbulent times. As Louis struggles to cope as Prior's illness progresses, Joe wrestles with his own sexuality, as well as a job offer from his mentor, the McCarthyism lawyer Roy Cohn.
As their stories intertwine and unravel, Prior is visited by ghosts and an angel who proclaims him to be a prophet; Joe finds himself struggling to reconcile his religion with his sexuality; Louis struggles with his guilt as he leaves Prior and begins a relationship with Joe; Harper's mental illness deteriorates; and Roy finds himself dying a slow lonely death from AIDS.
“Daring and dazzling! The most ambitious America play of our time: an epic that ranges from earth to heaven; focuses on politics, sex, and religion; transports us to Washington, the South Bronx, Salt Lake City, and Antarctica; deals with Jews, Mormons, WASPs, blacks; switches between realism and fantasy, from the tragedy of AIDS to the camp comedy of drag queens to the death or at least the absconding of God.”
--Jack Kroll, Newsweek.
CAST Roy Cohn: Michael P. Watkins
Joe Pitt: Bruce Lundy
Harper Pitt: Emily Hart
Louis Ironson: Ryan Olson
Prior Walter: Benjamin Newman
Hannah Pitt/Rabbi/Ethel Rosenberg: Nancy West
Belize/Mr. Lies: Chip Sherman
Emily/Sister Ella Chapter/Woman In South Bronx: Ellen Chace
Martin/Prior #1: Matthew Bonham
Henry/Prior #2: Michael Walker
