Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In November 1985, a friend of playwright Tony Kushner died of a mysterious illness called AIDS. That was the first time the deadly disease truly struck home with him, and then he dreamed of a man in his pajamas lying sick in bed when the ceiling collapses, and an angel enters the room. Not sure what to make of this, Kushner wrote a very long poem and set it aside. Its title was, of course, Angels in America, and it came to roaring life in 1993 in the form of a two-part theatrical event that won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the Tony Awards, and in 2003, was made into a critically acclaimed HBO adaptation starring, among others, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Mary-Louis Parker, and Patrick Wilson. For the twenty-fifth anniversary of its Broadway premiere, theater director Isaac Butler and Slate editor and writer Dan Kois have put together a brash and buoyant oral history of Angels in America that features actors, directors, producers, and Kushner. Other prominent interviewees include Congressman Barney Frank and Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. This invaluable origin story also examines the AIDS era and queer history in general.--Sawyers, June Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
To create this grand oral history of the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning drama Angels in America, Butler and Kois (writers for Slate) collected stories from about 250 people associated with Tony Kushner's play. Like guests at a fabulous cocktail party, these storytellers chat about the play's development, performance, impact, and continued relevance, their tales spanning the decades from the play's 1985 origin in a dream to the 2017 London revival. Stories about Kushner (director Declan Donnellan's memory of the rehearsal process: "Tony wanted to break my arm") pair well with the playwright's self-deprecating recollections ("For some reason Angels is always terrible at the first table read"). David Marshall Grant, who played Joe Pitt in the original Broadway production, remembers feeling he was "a part of something that was way beyond me"; lighting designer Casey Cowan recalled how, during one production, there was "a tiny lick of flame coming out of the floor!"; and Kushner himself admits that "I made a terrible mistake with the flying." Some familiarity with the play is helpful, but by the time this wide-ranging, occasionally chaotic conversation ends, even those who have never seen Angels will certainly be entertained and will come away with a great appreciation for the play. Photos. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Twenty-five years ago, Angels in America blazed on stage, winning multiple prizes (a Pulitzer for playwright Tony Kushner, Tonys for the Broadway play, Emmys for the TV adaptation). Writer and theater director Butler and Slate and New York Times Magazine writer Kois present the definitive history of this now iconic play in oral history format. Some 250 people involved with the creation and multiple performances tell what happened, why, and with whom. The play's birth was not easy; there were artistic differences, financial issues, and technical difficulties. The book begins with a look at the 1980s of Ronald Reagan and the subsequent AIDS crisis, reminding readers how much has changed since then. Next, the "building" of the play is revealed, the various actors discuss their roles, and the cultural climate of many years is gradually revealed. One of the most fascinating sections is the discussion of Roy Cohn, referred to by retired Congressman Barney Frank as "one of the most despicable people in American history who did not actually kill anybody." This gathering of the voices of actors, writers, and others is exceptional. The index was not seen, but it will be helpful given the number of people involved. VERDICT Highly recommended for anyone interested in performance, cultural history, and theater.-Susan L. Peters, Univ. of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An oral history traces the life of an iconic American play.Tony Kushner's Angels in America won accolades when it opened on Broadway in 1993, winning a Pulitzer Prize, many Tony awards, and critical acclaim. In their debut book, theater director Butler and Slate writer Kois gather the voices of 250 actors, directors, producers, critics, audience members, and historiansand Kushner himselfto tell the story of that momentous play and its dramatic context. A rich historical resource, the book chronicles the emergence of AIDS and the nation's changing attitudes toward homosexuality from 1978 to 2018, when Angels is set to be revived yet again. Each of five sections opens with a timeline, beginning with the assassination of gay rights activist Harvey Milk and progressing through the election of Ronald Reagan, the Army's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and the Supreme Court judgment making gay marriage legal in all states. Contributors include many of the actors in the original production and some (like Marcia Gay Harden) who performed over the years. Meryl Streep, who performed in the HBO production in 2003, remarked on the play's immediate impact: "I've seen lots of performances that surprised me in the theater but this was on a scalewith ambition and imaginationthat was unlike anything I'd ever seen." It was, she added later, "the Hamilton of its time." In his review, New York Times critic Frank Rich wrote that the play "speaks so powerfully because something far larger and more urgent than the future of the theater is at stake. It really is history that Mr. Kushner intends to crack open." Despite the praise and awards, Kushner himself never quite believed his fame. In an interview with journalist Susan Cheever, he expressed worry that if a new play failed, he would "just be back to writing little plays for tiny little theaters." She assured him that would never happen: "You've gone over to the other side now. You'll always have done this thing and it's permanent."A chorus of candid, emotional, and often moving testimonies. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
