Teeming with mature content and controversial topics, "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" is a show that has been widely talked about since it first opened in San Francisco in 1991.
Written by Tony Kushner, "Millennium Approaches" is the first of two parts of the play "Angels in America."
Set New York City in 1985 in the midst of America's AIDS epidemic, the story follows a gay couple dealing with AIDS, a closeted Mormon and his drug-addicted wife, and other characters as they struggle to discover who they truly are.
"I think it's a fascinating product of its time in the way that it's a commentary on so many things in the ‘80s that now extend to a dialogue in terms of bipartisan politics and religion and sexuality," said Drew Vidal, assistant professor of theater and actor in the play. "It's a really, really dense piece in terms of all of these issues. "
Associate professor of theater and the play's director Jennifer Blackmer said the content of the play is one of the main reasons they chose to perform it. She said it is important that people are still aware of the devastating affect AIDS has on people's lives, even with modern medicine.
"The play is almost 20 years old, but it is still achingly relevant to a lot of the discourse that is going on right now," Blackmer said, referencing the debate about gay marriage and the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Blackmer said choosing "Angels in America" was multipurpose. Not only does it bring important issues to light, but it also provides a setting for students and faculty to act alongside each other.
Along with Vidal, faculty members Wendy Mortimer and Rodger Smith are also performing. Although putting three faculty members in the show took away roles from students, Blackmer said it was more beneficial in the long run.
"What we discovered is that when students and faculty act in the same scene together, the student's work improves because they are being asked to match the energy of the faculty member," Blackmer said. "They are being asked to make their process so much more professional because that's what they're observing the professional actors do."
They exceeded their goal to improve student acting, she said.
"The student work on this production is some of the most outstanding student work I've ever seen us do," she said.
One student who said he has seen improvement in his work by working alongside faculty is Joe Redman, a senior general studies major with an emphasis in theater. In the show, he plays Prior, a gay man struggling with AIDS.
"I've learned more in this play than I have, I think, in any acting class," he said. "The faculty are good at acting like they are fellow actors. They would never pull you aside and say ‘Hey, you need to do this.' But they will be like, ‘Do you mind taking criticism right now?' And then they'll switch their hat from actor hat to teacher hat but with permission. And I think that's really professional, and it's taught me a lot."
Although "Angels in America" is often referred to as "The Gay Play," those involved in the production say that it goes much deeper than that. Vidal, who plays the closeted gay Mormon, said that even though he plays a character different from himself, he has found ways to connect.
"I think there are a lot of characters in this play figuring out who they really are, who are figuring what they really want, who are acknowledging maybe that the life that they've been leading isn't what they thought it was or isn't where they thought they'd end up," he said. "It's not satisfying all the wants and needs that they imagined themselves having. In that way, all of these characters are conflicted in a way, and I think that that's something that pretty much anyone and everyone can associate with."
Redman agreed, saying everyone, of any sexuality, can find something to relate to in the show.
"It shows that gay relationships have the same issues and troubles and problems as heterosexual relationships," he said. "We all go through the same stuff. We all have the same worries, the same happiness, everything. Being gay and being straight, there's really no difference."
"Angels in America" has left its mark on the theatre world. In 1993, it won both a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play.
Blackmer said she hopes that the audience, no matter what preconceptions they come in with, will be able to appreciate the play and the questions it serves to unearth.
"My hope is that people may come in with an expectation of seeing a play about gay characters who are undergoing discoveries about their identity and witness something incredibly grand that unearths questions that are about everybody," she said. "Not just about the gay community but about everybody."
When: Sept. 23-25, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 26 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Where: University Theatre
$6.50 for students
$11.50 for faculty
$12.50 for general public
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