Angels In America
Millennium Approaches
History!
Red Scare- A period in the United States, during the Cold War, where the nation was afraid of the spread of communism. They arrested anyone who they believed to have communist sympathy, including Julius and Ethel Rosenburg who were executed as communist spies.
Who was president?- Ronald Reagan. He was a republican who beat Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election.
HIV/AIDS- The general attitude towards these diseases during this time was that only gay people and drug user could get.
Homosexuals- After 1991, there was a slow shift towards the acceptance of homosexuality. Before 1991, three thirds of the population believed homosexuality was always wrong.
Angels in America
Wednesday, Apr 23, 2014, 06:00 PM
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, F Street Northwest, Washington, DC, United States
Synopsis
Character Description and Cast
Prior Walter - The boyfriend Louis abandons after Prior reveals that he has AIDS. Prior becomes a prophet when he is visited by an Angel of God. Played by Daniel Radcliff
Joe Pitt - A Mormon, Republican lawyer at the appeals court. Joe does not know how to admit to his own homosexuality to himself. Played by Zachary Quinto
Harper Pitt - Joe's wife, a Valium-addicted agoraphobic women trapped in a failing marriage who hallucinates and invents imaginary characters to escape her troubles.
Played by Jennifer Aniston
Roy Cohn - A famous New York lawyer and power broker, Roy Cohn was a real-life figure whom Kushner adapted for his play. Roy is the play's most vicious and disturbing character, a closeted homosexual who disavows other gays and cares only about amassing clout. Played by Charles Shaughnessy
Belize - A black ex-drag queen and registered nurse, Belize is Prior's best friend and Roy's caretaker. Played by Micheal Clarke Duncan
Hannah Pitt - Joe's mother, who moves from Salt Lake City to New York after Joe confesses he is gay. Played by Meryl Streep
Prior I - Prior's ancestors who are summoned from the dead to help prepare the way for the Angel's arrival. Prior I is a medieval farmer. Played by James Frain
Prior II- Prior II a seventeenth- century Londoner who is more sophisticated.
Played by Johnthan Meyers
Ethel Rosenberg - A real-life Jewish woman who was executed for treason during the McCarthy era. Played by Ethel Rosenburg