Angels in America: What I Hope You Gained From This Play

This play more than any of the other plays we've read so far really pushes the limits of what can and cannot be done on stage.  There's such a thin line between what can and can't be done on stage.  I've had people tell me that you can do anything with an ambitious director.  Kushner's comment at the beginning of the play about his stage directions is a really good one.  He says, "The moments of magic--the appearance and disappearance of Mr. Lies and the ghosts, the Book Hallucination, and the ending--are to be fully realized, as bits of wonderful theatrical illusion--which means it's OK if the wires show, and maybe it's good that they do, but the magic should at the same time be thoroughly amazing."  The wonderful thing about theater is that your audience signs an unwritten, unspoken contract when they attend your production to believe whatever your production puts on the stage.  If you tell them this metal folding chair is a throne, it's a throne.  If two people carry in a person and they tell you that person is flying, they're flying.  One of the great things about theatre is the ability to see different interpretations of the same piece.  The one way one theatre stages the ending of Angels in America may differ from how another theatre does it and both can be equally exciting.

The characters in this piece are so painfully human.  All of them do despicable things to themselves and to others but you don't dislike any of them.   Even the most villainous character, Roy Cohn, garners sympathy (especially in the second half).  I want you see how this play is full of political ideals but they never overpower the story that is being told.  Kushner is able to send his message about how he feels about America's politics without sacrificing his characters.  In fact he does a good job of making those ideals a part of each character or a part of the scene.  Roy Cohn embodies exactly what Kushner felt about Reaganism.  Some of you may aim in your plays to send political or moral messages but make sure that you do them in a manner that still tells a story.

Also note the use of simultaneity in this play, where there are several things happening at once.  This can be very theatrical when done right and while it may have been a little confusing reading it, it works really well on stage.