The first thing I have to say is I haven't seen Part 1 live yet, I might accomplish that this week and I might have to wait until February when the cast changes. Unfortunately for me, the only times Part 1 is being performed this week are times when I have other plans, which is annoying. I have read the play and I have seen the HBO miniseries as well, so this post is about how the actors brought the text to life for me. Now for the actual review:
First I give the actors a lot of credit for being able to perform this seven hour two-part epic politcal/social opus. It's quite an amazing piece of theater with many fluid scene transitions and simultaneous scenes, so I would imagine the memorization would be quite difficult because there would be the tendency to get confused about which lines/scenes go where.
I think my favorite actor in the cast would have been Billy Porter as Belize/Mr. Lies. Jeffrey Wright's performance in the role is still vivid in my mind as he was my first, and until now, only actor to have seen play the role. (This reminds me to look into A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center. I keep wondering if it's worth trying to get a student ticket to see it. It probably is as long as my seat is decent.) (P.S. If you don't like parentheticals, you are going to have a hard time reading this blog.) I've been a fan of Billy Porter's from hearing/seeing video footage of him in Grease! and I saw him voice Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors down in Florida, so this was really my first time seeing him live onstage. (Side note: I forgot he was in Songs for a New World off-Broadway. Why is Ty Taylor on the recording instead of him? Was it not recorded during the run?) I thought he was spectacularly amusing and funny as Belize, the right combination of tough, rational and effeminate qualities needed to showcase Belize's facets. He had more flourishes than I remember Jeffrey Wright having, who seemed a bit more subdued from what I remember. Billy's Belize showed more emotion and expression in being the qualified nurse who didn't back down from disagreements and arguing with people.
Christian Borle is probably the actor in the cast I was most familiar with, despite having not actually seen him perform live either, but being familiar with his performances. Some reviews I had read said that he was campy as Prior Walter, but I didn't really see that quality in him. His Prior was scared out of his mind by the vision of the angel and the idea of being a prophet and then slowly begins to embrace it and to love and embrace life, as terrible and imperfect as it can be and often is. He is terminally ill and dying but by the Epilogue he enjoys being alive and looks forward to new occasions. I thought he did a wonderful job as the play may be an ensemble piece, but the play seems to revolve around Prior. I was surprised when he was cast in a non-musical dramatic role, and I think he did an amazing job.
I'm debating if I should continue reviewing each cast member individually (two down, six to go) and I think I will just keep writing that way until I run out of steam. The play is an ensemble piece with most actors playing multiple roles, but they still seem to stand out individually to me rather than as a cohesive unit. I see them as eight distinct people sharing scenes and moving the plot forward. The play focuses on so many human issues: physical, theoretical, and emotional and some ideas fly by so fast that I am glad I already was familiar with the play. The play takes place in a certain time period, the second term of Ronald Reagan and an Epilogue set in 1990, but it doesn't really feel dated although at times it is a history lesson/reminder, which is something I like.
Zoe Kazan is a talented actress but I still think she seems too young for Harper. I suppose that it is plausible for her and Joe to have gotten married young and moved east, but I keep thinking of Mary-Louise Parker's loopy portrayal or Marcia Gay Harden. Zoe comes across as a very intense teenager. I look forward to seeing her future performances though. Robin Bartlett does a great job as Hannah Pitt/Ethel Rosenberg with her different wigs and accents. I like Hannah's transformation from a stereotype into a vibrant human being functioning among others. Zachary Quinto is quite amazing as Louis, who is possibly my favorite character in the play with all his jokes and one-liners. He is the most flawed character to me, and Mr. Quinto brought a lot of depth to the role. Frank Wood was also solid as Roy Cohn, but it was hard to have a lot of sympathy for him. Bill Heck was also solid as Joe, seems to connect everyone together in the relationship spider web. He's mostly a passive character where a lot happens around him and he can't always make up his mind about what he wants to do. Although the few moments he does try to lead are startling, Which brings us to the angel herself, Robin Weigert, who was quite spectacular as the mysterious Angel haunting Prior as well as his hospital nurse. She showed the humanity inside an otherworldly, luminous, and often authoritative being and her entrance/exits were quite amazing as well, as I had been wondering how those moments would be staged. She had the right amount of authority and gravitas while floating in mid-air, giant wings flapping (Kudos to my friend Laurie who built them). She excelled at all her roles of dispensing advice to misguided souls.
Angels in America is quite an opus which needs to be seen and/or read more than once for all the ideas and themes to really sink in. It's still powerful and resonant now and I look forward to February when I will be seeing the show again with some new cast members. Performances continue at the Signature Theatre through March 27.
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