Project #2 - Option #2

PRE-BROADWAY REVIEW
Magic of the angels; Angels in America by Tony Kushner National Theatre (Cottesloe)
By: Nicholas De Jongh

"You anticipate some dream-struck apology for the right to achieve homosexual happiness in the land of the free by 2001, despite the ravages of Aids. Wrongly. Kushner, a young American, moves in larger territory.

Here is a state of the nation report, relating the Aids epidemic and those caught in its horrible throes to America's political and social condition."

This quote is the author trying to summarize how an audience member may feel when watching this show. They would assume that it would be attempting to "achieve homosexual happiness" but will come to find out that the play is about the epidemic of Aids. In the rest of the review, the author gives acclaim to the actors and continues to elaborate about his personal experience in seeing the play.

ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCTION
Angels Over Broadway
by Vit Wagner of the Toronto Star

"While it might not quite live up to its advance billing - but then, as the Village Voice joked, even Hamlet would be a letdown after this advance - it is a provocative, moving and brilliant work, capable of forcing you to search inside yourself at the same time as you examine the world around you. In other words, it is a work of art."

The author talks about the play in great detail, from its origin to the content, to its award nominations. The author is pleased with the production, and clearly, by reading the above quote, feels that the play is groundbreaking.

NON-NYC PRODUCTION, POST-1993
Aids Drama Proves It's a Survivor
by: Michael Harris

"This is the production's greatest failing. When the angel appears to tell the dying Prior that he's a prophet whose "great work" is about to begin, the moment is awfully disappointing. For starters, we see the angel's feet waving in the rafters for a minute before she clumsily descends. What's more, the conspicuous safety mattress does not inspire confidence in her angelic properties.

Lame herald aside, Angels does take a halting, and surprising, sort of flight."

The author of the review has comments similar to this one throughout the entire article. He talks about the actor's performances and the content of the script, and then ends with this quote, which sums up his feelings in the article.

SHSU Presents Angels in America: Millenium Approaches
by: Katie Darcy

"Aside from a few articulation problems, a couple of uses of profanity that seemed unnatural, one odd ambient noise choice, and some missed dialect opportunities (with the exception of Amy Burn as Ethel Rosenberg, whose old Jewish New Yorker accent was impeccable), the show is a must-see."

The author of the article covers the plot of the play, the casting choices by the director, technical aspects and the script content. The author chooses not to pick apart the show for inconsistencies, but chose to mention them while still saying that show, in her opinion, was worth seeing.

ANGELS IN AMERICA -- HBO VERSION
Believe in HBO's 'Angels'
by: Robert Bianco

"Though the focus is on a group of gay men enduring the first onslaught of AIDS in the Reaganite '80s, this is an all-encompassing story, filled with compassion for the strengths and weaknesses we hold in common. Beautiful and profane, intimate and epic, Angels overflows with comedy, drama, violence, sex and death -- just like life itself."

The author of this article shares his positive feelings about his experience in watching the HBO movie of Angels in America. He talks about the pros of having a television version of the play, as the expansive budget and special effects capabilites. He discusses the casting choices and the content of the play.