By Charlotte Dekle

logline: Playwright Tony Kushner adapted his political epic about the A.I.D.S. crisis during the mid 1980s and centers the story around a group of separate but connected individuals.

Source: IMDb

In the midst of this global pandemic that some countries are getting over, I wanted to look back at what I think to be the last major pandemic. It’s not the 1918 flu, it’s HIV/AIDS which swept the world in the 1980s and still affecting people today. It’s the topic of seemingly every Tony-award winning musical. So I decided to rewatch the limited series adaptation of my favorite Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tony Kushner, Angels in America. In six roughly one-hour segments you are transported back to the 1980s, the height of the AIDS crisis. Being about the AIDS crisis, you would expect it to be dry and depressing. But it’s the exact opposite, it is full of life and optimism. Well, except for Roy Cohn (played by Al Pacino). I’m not here to give you a history lesson but research about Roy Cohn, he’s fascinating. The direction is phenomenal (RIP EGOT winner Mike Nichols). The camera flies through New York City in extreme style. But it can also be small and understated for some of the more quiet moments in the show. Good direction is essential for a show of this stature. Not to spoil anything, but there are angels, like angels. The seamless direction makes some of the whimsically absurd parts seem quite plausible. He managed to make it thrive onscreen as opposed to the medium of stage. Now onto the script. It’s definitely not an easy watch, mostly for how dense the writing is. For each diatribe, you can either listen and let the words pass through your ears like music or you can pause and dig deep into what the characters are saying. Both approaches are enjoyable. But, Tony Kushner had to adapt his wonderful play to a television medium. This included cutting scenes, trimming lines, to make the show flow better. So you could venture to say that this script is better than the script for the play. The dialogue is phenomenal. It’s equal parts witty and heart wrenching. The characters talk in long monologues, how no one talks in real life, it makes everyone seem ridiculously intelligent. Boasting an all-star cast of Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep, and so many more, they all carry their weight in lovely performances that will spellbind you into believing that this heightened version of New York exists. They will haunt and mesmerize you long after the final credits pass. The makeup team gets a special shout out here for making two perfectly healthy actors look sickly and dying with wine-dark patches across their body. Adapting a play that garnered so much critical acclaim could’ve been a daunting task, especially with the heavy subject matter, but in the deft hands of these highly-skilled craftspeople, it soars, much like an angel. Angels in America was the most watched made-for-cable film in 2003, and earned much critical acclaim and numerous accolades: at the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards, it became the first (and currently only) program to win in every major eligible category. It’s a masterfully crafted story with beautiful direction and writing and performances that is definitely worth the 352 minute runtime. 

My Favorite Characters:

• Justin Kirk as Prior Walter: I love Prior and all the subsequent Walters. Get it? He’s a prophet, literally and that’s just part of why I love him. Prior is the character that is most easily identifiable as the protagonist, he endures so much. His lover, Louis leaves him, he is afflicted with AIDS, and harassed by a merciless and unfathomable Angel. But it never brings him down. He always has a witty remark or a crazy theory that keeps him alive. Both literally and figuratively. He goes through a wonderful transformation where he gains more agency in life and when he is faced with the option to go to Heaven, he rejects it. He claims that he wants “more life.” He rejects the stasis and embraces the change which is the struggle that ripples throughout the play. At the end when he says “The world only spins forward” it is the line that marks the arc of his character. From giving up to taking agency and deciding to live. Deciding he wants more life. Justin Kirk is great and embodies Prior in all of his idiosyncrasies and makes you want to give him more life.

• Jeffrey Wright as Mr. Lies / Norman "Belize" Arriaga / Homeless man / The Angel Europa: he’s the only cast member who is reprising their role from the Broadway cast. He is phenomenal. The variety of characters he plays can attest to his versatility as an actor. As Mr. Lies, he is a fast-talking travel agent who works for IOTA (International Order of Travel Agents). As Belize, he is the most ethical and reasonable character in the play, generously looking out for Prior, grappling with Roy and rebutting Louis's blindly self-centered politics. The other two characters are only in a scene but Jeffrey Wright exquisitely plays them. 

• Mary-Louise Parker as Harper Pitt: all she wants to do is see the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica. She’s a Valium-addicted agoraphobe trapped in a failing marriage with a closeted gay man who hallucinates and invents imaginary characters to escape her troubles. Characters like the aforementioned Mr. Lies.

This show is rated TV-MA. Here’s why:

• Sexual Content and Nudity

• Language

Favorite Part: SPOILERS AHEAD. I have two favorite parts. My first is the scene where Prior Walter has AIDS and tells his boyfriend, Louis on the day of Louis’s grandmother’s funeral. I can recite this scene verbatim because it is the inciting incident for the whole show and the performances are amazing in it coupled with the fantastic dialogue *chefs kiss*. My other favorite part is when Louis confronts his new boyfriend, Joe (a Mormon) after Louis leaves Prior. Joe works for Roy Cohn (I told you to research him). It starts with one of the most famous punchlines in US History. "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Then Louis proceeds to rant to Joe (who is a chief clerk) about the gay-bashing decisions that he made. It escalates to the point where Joe beats Louis up, and overcome with guilt, Joe offers to help and runs off. But honestly every scene in this show is a masterclass.

Where to Watch:

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