2008 Woodie Awards
Mask & Bauble believes in Angels
Josh Justice
Issue date: 1/15/03 Section: News
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by Josh Justice
Part one of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, by Tony Kushner, is a dark comedy about a myriad of social issues set in the mid-1980s, but remains applicable. It focuses on America's difficulty dealing with the growing problems of modern society. From the degradation of the ozone layer to the rise of AIDS, Kushner's dialogues carry strains of a defeatist philosophy tempered by his biting humor. Caitlin Lowans, a foreign service senior, explained that the play was chosen with respect to the current LGBTQ issues on campus, hoping that the play, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993, might help spur debate due to its quality and depth.
For all the social commentary included in Angels in America, the true fabric that binds the play together and keeps the audience's interest is the humor that lightens the otherwise bleak world of the play, as the characters react to their shattered worlds. One of the most poignant examples of this is a shared dream experience between Prior Walter (Brian Soja, an arts and sciences senior), a flamboyant homosexual, and Harper Porter Pitt (Tara Everhart, an arts and sciences senior), a sex starved, Valium addicted, Mormon housewife.
Yet the eclectic collection of social issues that this play tackles is neatly packaged together with the main plot. The play is centered around two couples, one gay and one Mormon heterosexual. As the play progresses these two couples cross paths, the Mormon husband discovers his own homosexuality and one of the gay me, learns that he has contracted HIV. The connections of the play's main characters facilitate the incorporation of a variety of issues, from Harper's hallucinations and paranoia to Louis's (Seth Miller, a foreign service senior) challenge with justice and his Jewish faith as his partner succumbs to AIDS.
Angels also focuses on the political scene of the day. When faced with the question of gay rights and acceptance, Louis makes the profound statement, "Power is the object, not toleration. Fuck assimilation." Other featured political themes are race and political corruption. These issues are dealt with in a serious but entertaining context, not overly dwelt upon but included as a facet of everyday life.
Part one of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, by Tony Kushner, is a dark comedy about a myriad of social issues set in the mid-1980s, but remains applicable. It focuses on America's difficulty dealing with the growing problems of modern society. From the degradation of the ozone layer to the rise of AIDS, Kushner's dialogues carry strains of a defeatist philosophy tempered by his biting humor. Caitlin Lowans, a foreign service senior, explained that the play was chosen with respect to the current LGBTQ issues on campus, hoping that the play, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993, might help spur debate due to its quality and depth.
For all the social commentary included in Angels in America, the true fabric that binds the play together and keeps the audience's interest is the humor that lightens the otherwise bleak world of the play, as the characters react to their shattered worlds. One of the most poignant examples of this is a shared dream experience between Prior Walter (Brian Soja, an arts and sciences senior), a flamboyant homosexual, and Harper Porter Pitt (Tara Everhart, an arts and sciences senior), a sex starved, Valium addicted, Mormon housewife.
Yet the eclectic collection of social issues that this play tackles is neatly packaged together with the main plot. The play is centered around two couples, one gay and one Mormon heterosexual. As the play progresses these two couples cross paths, the Mormon husband discovers his own homosexuality and one of the gay me, learns that he has contracted HIV. The connections of the play's main characters facilitate the incorporation of a variety of issues, from Harper's hallucinations and paranoia to Louis's (Seth Miller, a foreign service senior) challenge with justice and his Jewish faith as his partner succumbs to AIDS.
Angels also focuses on the political scene of the day. When faced with the question of gay rights and acceptance, Louis makes the profound statement, "Power is the object, not toleration. Fuck assimilation." Other featured political themes are race and political corruption. These issues are dealt with in a serious but entertaining context, not overly dwelt upon but included as a facet of everyday life.