Angels
Exist in America
by Cheyenne Kemp of the Forum
photo by John Gitchoff (The Rep)
The
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis opened their season with the Tony- and Pulitzer
Prize winning play Angels in America. It was beautifully brought to life under the
direction of Tony Speciale and Hana S. Sharif. The play takes the audience
through the AIDS epidemic in 1980’s New York City. The audience follows three
couples in their fights with drug addiction, death, spirituality, homosexuality
and political stances.
Joe
Pitt (Jayson Speters) is a Republican Mormon who struggles with the realization
that he is gay. His wife, Harper (Valeri Mudek), is left to her own devices and
struggles with agoraphobia and the drug abuse of Valium while their marriage is
strained and tested. Joe reveals that he feels no sexual desire for her asd he
comes to terms with his sexuality.
Another
relationship that is tested is the one between lovers Prior Walter (Barret Foa)
and Louis (Ben Cherry) where Prior reveals that he is positive for AIDS and not
being able to cope with this fact, Louis moves out because he doesn’t want to
see Prior die in front of him. Finally, we meet Roy Cohn (Peter Frechette), the
McCarthyistic lawyer that Joe works for in the same judge’s building Louis
works in. Roy finds that he is dying and wants Joe to move to Washington and
use his “powerful position” to let Roy keep his ability to practice law and not
get disavowed. Joe is unable to accept the offer Roy made for the sake of his
wife, but makes matters worse by coming out to his mother via phone, where she
packs up and sells her house immediately and rushes to her son’s side.
photo by John Gitchoff (The Rep)
Later,
we see Louis is riddled with guilt from leaving his partner in the time of need
but also finds comfort in the arms of a stranger’s arms and later, Joe’s. All
the while, Prior is slowly recovering and is visited by the Angel (Gina
Daniels) who bestows knowledge on him that only he, the last living member of
WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant), can know so “The Great Work” can begin.
Kushner
brought hope to those dealing with the after effects of AIDS and gave those who
had seen their loved ones die in front of them a reason to go on. When the play
first premiered in 1991, thousands of people were dying but the epidemic was not
given the attention it needed to be addressed. It was also believed to be
contained exclusively in the gay community, but it wasn’t until Rock Hudson
died of the disease and Ryan White, a teenager who received treatments for
hemophilia, contracted the disease and got kept from going to school with his
classmates was when the disease given public acknowledgement. President Ronald
Reagan finally mentioned AIDS for the first time in four years AIDS had gotten
tons of medical findings, media coverage and resulted in so many deaths that it
was mentioned. This is where the plot of Angels in America begins.
This
play has a special place in my heart because it gave those going through
unimaginable struggles hope to live on and see another day because at the root
of everything, were still human. I compared the AIDS epidemic to today’s race
and gun law problems because these issues won’t get the attention they need
until there are millions dying and it’s your next-door neighbor suffering that
we start to care. Many of the issues brought up during the show are still
problems going on today being debated against such as racial disparity, climate
change, and political views.
It
is worth mentioning seamless work of the backstage crew with flawless scene
changes and costume designs. Angels in America is presented in two parts with a
run time of three hours and 20 minutes each.The Rep’s production of Angels in
America ran Sept. 4 through Oct. 6. For information about other plays with The Rep go to www.repstl.org
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