I am working through my backlog of reviews, so I might as well start at the beginning with the oldest and then move towards the more recent ones. Back in February, I had the chance to see the second cast of the off-Broadway revival of Angels in America at Signature Theatre Company perform both parts of Tony Kushner's epic play. I had previously seen the first cast perform Part II back in December, and that review can be found on this blog for comparison. I think Part II is my favorite part, as I feel that Part I is mostly the exposition to set up the events which actually occur in the second part, beginning with the entrance of the angel at the end of Part I.
Thankfully, some of the cast members from the first cast were still there, namely Frank Wood as Roy Cohn, Bill Heck as Joe Pitt, and Billy Porter as Belize. Frank Wood's portrayal of Mr. Cohn is quite a wonder to behold, as he plays the real-life lawyer as a slimy, unlikable self-hating Jewish man who spends most of this play attempting to carry out underhanded deals to keep himself afloat as he faces a potential disbarment hearing. He is in denial that he has contracted HIV from unprotected sex with men on business trips because of the stigma that comes with being labed homosexual. He is afraid of losing his position of political influence in Reagan-era America. As the plays progress, his symptoms worsen and he is eventually committed to a hospital where he lies slowly dying with his tongue hanging out and an odd orange complexion.
Billy Porter is still marvelous as Belize, the homosexual black nurse who tends to Roy Cohn and also helps his friend Prior Walter cope with the same disease. He often provides a voice of reason and hope to the other characters, the opposite of Louis. Adam Driver inhabits Louis with a nervous energy but gives a very solid believable performance as a gay man struggling with his life situation, and his personal and religious identity. His partner has contracted HIV and he doesn't know how to deal with it, so he leaves and begins dating the Mormon and newly gay Joe Pitt. Mr. Driver does a good job at conveying the neurotic qualities in this complex character struggling with his emotions. Bill Heck provides a grounded center as Joe, struggling with his homosexual feelings, his career choices offered to him by Roy Cohn, and his marriage to the pill-popping and agoraphobic Harper Pitt.
Out of the new cast members, I was most excited to see Michael Urie take on Prior Walter since I enjoyed seeing him as Marc St. James on Ugly Betty over the past few years. Some of his vocal inflections and character mannerisms were the same, which made it feel like I was watching the same character at times. I did enjoy his performance though, as it felt fairly realistic.
Sofia Jean Gomez did a wonderful job in her roles as a hospital nurse the titular angel descended from on high to speak to the would-be prophet Prior. Keira Keeley also did a great job as Harper Pitt, inheriting the role from the immensely talented Zoe Kazan. She communicated the anxiety and insecurity of a wife who is losing her husband but not fully in control of her own life decisions until the end of the play. Lynne McCollough did not leave a lasting impression as Joe's mother Hannah Pitt as well as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to see both parts of the play together with the same cast in a short timeframe. Some scenes were edited, presumably for time, but the staging in the small Peter Norton Space worked very well, as the audience was close to the action and the projections and set changes really set the stage in terms of locations. I was amazed at how much was achieved simply by rotating a set piece, and the appearance of the angel was well-conceived. I look forward to seeing more productions produced by Signature Theatre Company in the coming years, although I have not seen their production of The Illusion yet as I have been unable to get a ticket. Next season will be devoted to Athol Fugard, and since I am not familiar with most of his work, I look forward to those productions.
No comments:
Post a Comment