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July 21, 2006
Play gives insight into AIDS
Hoarse Raven's Angels in America is a witty, touching production.
STEPHANIE RAMSAY
Millennium Approaches," part one of Tony Kushner's acclaimed
play Angels in America, proves that the age-old themes of
love and loss are truly timeless.
The play follows the lives of a group of New Yorkers in the mid-1980s,
most of whom are affected by AIDS at a time when the disease was
just emerging and was poorly understood. It opens with neurotic
homosexual Louis Ironson (played by Seattle Jewish community member
Alan Goldwasser) listening to the rabbi eulogize his grandmother
at her funeral. Shortly after the service, while Louis is agonizing
over the fact that he abandoned his grandmother years ago, his lover
Prior (Marco Soriano) admits that he has full-blown AIDS –
and that he had been hiding the news out of fear that Louis would
leave him. Foreshadowing his eventual behavior, Louis walks out
on their conversation, only reluctantly agreeing to return home
later.
Meanwhile, high-profile McCarthyist lawyer Roy Cohn, played to strident
perfection by Allan Morgan, is meeting with his closeted, albeit
devoutly Mormon, clerk Joe Pitt (Johann Helf). When Roy offers Joe
a prestigious position in Washington, Joe says that he will have
to discuss it with his wife, Harper (Kirsten Robek).
The scene suddenly shifts to the Pitt household, where Harper, in
a Valium-induced haze, wonders if she is happy, if her husband really
loves her and if the world is coming to an end. As she slips in
and out of reality, she is visited by one of her many imaginary
friends, a charismatic travel agent – aptly named Mr. Lies
(Denis Simpson) – who promises to transport her away from her
misery at a moment's notice.
As the play progresses, Louis finds himself unable to cope with
the stress of Prior's illness, Joe struggles to reconcile his religion
and his sexuality, Harper slips deeper into a dream world and, perhaps
most interestingly, Prior is visited by ghosts and angels who proclaim
him as a prophet.
Although Angels in America addresses very concrete themes,
the play oscillates between stark reality and ethereal fantasy,
giving the whole production a dream-like feeling. In a particularly
profound and humorous sequence, one of Harper's delusions intersects
with one of Prior's dreams. While both are unsure how this meeting
is possible, they understand one another immediately, and are able
to provide support for each other in their misery.
Angels in America is incredibly witty and touching, and the
actors of Hoarse Raven Theatre certainly do justice to Kushner's
Tony Award-winning play. While there are a couple of weak performances,
the lead actors infuse their characters with incredible sensitivity,
demonstrating that, when dealing with love and loss, there is no
right way to behave. Throughout the play, the audience empathizes
with Joe as he attempts to come out of the closet, feels for Harper
as she turns to drugs to mask her unhappiness and cares for Prior
as he becomes increasingly sick. Even Louis, who abandons Prior
at the height of his illness, is difficult to condemn. Only Roy
seems unredeemable.
In particular, Vancouver native Kirsten Robek shines in her portrayal
of Harper, a character who is both darkly funny in her desperation
and incredibly tragic in her loneliness.
With this production, Hoarse Raven Theatre hopes to raise the profile
of AIDS in Vancouver: the timing of this performance is no accident,
as 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases
of AIDS. Although Angels in America first debuted in 1992,
director Michael Fera maintains that the play's message is still
relevant.
"Whilst raising two children, I see that the view of AIDS has
changed," said Fera in a press release. "Our generation's
children – although educated about HIV/AIDS – have no
idea of the terror, paranoia and impact that this onslaught had
on the world 25 years ago. Thus, Angels in America is an
historical play which documents an incredibly important and difficult
time in our lives. It is vital that we remember and continue to
remind people of this."
Although the play is almost 15 years old, it was recently brought
into the limelight again, when Kusher and HBO teamed up to adapt
it for television. The acclaimed mini-series, starring the likes
of Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Mary-Louise Parker and Emma Thompson,
received several Golden Globes and was the most-watched made for
cable movie in 2003.
Hoarse Raven's "Part I, Millennium Approaches," opened
at the Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island, on July 19 and plays
through Aug.19. "Part II, Perestroika," opens on Aug.
2 and plays through Aug. 19. Tickets are $42.80 and can be purchased
from Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca
or 604-280-4444. Every Tuesday is two-for-one night and Wednesdays
are pay-what-you-can nights (this offer is on door sales only and
excludes the Aug. 2 opening).
Families should note that Angels in America includes full-frontal
male nudity and much profanity.
Stephanie Ramsay is a summer intern at the Independent.
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