Silence = Death
Under Brian McEleney’s direction, the much-anticipated Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, wowed audiences just as much as part 1, Millennium Approaches. This continuation revisits the lives of its beloved, memorable characters as they confront illness, identity, the shifting tides of history and the human heart. Highly regarded as the greatest play in the last 40 years, this Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Emmy award-winning masterpiece is set in 1980s New York City during the height of the AIDS epidemic. The wondrously surprising conclusion to Tony Kushner’s epic, Perestroika picks up where Millennium Approaches left off, diving even deeper into the complexities of love, sex, religion, family, and politics in Reagan-era America. As the AIDS crisis intensifies and the transcendental importance of each character’s soul unfolds, Perestroika becomes a powerful culmination of hope, justice, and the possibility of change.
“Angels in America: Part One ends with a declaration, ‘The great work begins.’ Part Two starts with equally weighty words, ‘Can we change?’” says McEleney. “This provocative question, in many ways even more urgent than it was 30 years ago, is a call to arms for Kushner’s characters and for all of us who join them on their journey. I look forward to continuing the story we began last spring, and to sharing its vision of hope amid painful progress with the audience who so generously embraced Angel’s brilliant first half.”
Harper is more dependent on Valium and vanishes into one of her hallucinations. Louis and Joe explore their complicated relationship. Roy’s anger is roused as his health declines. An angel appears to Prior and tells him he is a prophet. And thus the great work begins!
What this small cast of eight has achieved is nothing short of amazing. Perestroika trusts the incredible actors and script to supply its wings. Haas Regen as Prior is agonizingly bed-ridden with the virus, portraying his undying sarcastic sense of humor as well as his tenderness with unwavering verve. Prior’s former lover, Louis, is equally complicated. Ben Steinfeld’s portrayal carries self-loathing penitence, and intellectual irritation. The knowledge that sometimes love cannot endure self-betrayal is a reminder that we are all human despite our condition, or are victims of the human condition.
GAMM’s Artistic Director Tony Estrella reprises his role as the complex and controversial lawyer Roy Cohn, a most vile, despicable human. To see this sweet man excel in this vulgar role is a true testament to his stage prowess. Jeff Church’s unflagging anguish as Joe Pitt convinces us he cannot stand alone as Cohn’s patsy, Louis’ lover, or Harper’s husband. Joe even has a troubled relationship with his mother, adeptly portrayed by Jeanine Kane, who takes on multiple roles.
Rachael Warren portrays the angel not so much as a celestial body, but with human-like bluntness, sass and lofty vim. Rodney Witherspoon II as Belize brings saucy sarcasm and loving compassion to the table. Gabrielle McCauley as Harper Pitt makes real her Valium-induced vivid hallucinations — until she comes to terms with her failed marriage — and they no longer serve her.
Patrick Lynch’s set backdrop is the same used in Millennium Approaches, where obscene graffiti covers white-tiled walls in a men’s public bathroom. This artistic representation serves surprisingly well for the hospital rooms, asylum and personal bedrooms. When the angel appears, she’s exalted through the use of a rolling stair unit. Jeff Adelberg’s subtle lighting, and sound design by Peter Sasha Hurowitz make transitions between hallucination and reality dignified, supporting the emotional structure.
This masterpiece is a perfect blend of heavily weighted angst lifted by comic relief that will surely stay with you long after you leave the theater. The last scene could have been shorter, but Perestroika ends on a powerful note, reminding us that, even among cruelty and trepidation, you must live every day with intention and carry it forward. Don’t be surprised if you walk away feeling the gravitational pull toward hope — despite the dread that history repeats itself, and humans are what they are — willing you to convey it forward.
Advisory: discussion of AIDS, illness, death, grief, sexuality, and addiction. The GAMM presents Angels in America: Perestroika through October 19. Production runs just over three hours including two intermissions. For more information, visit gammtheatre.org.