ANGELS IN AMERICA @ THE LYCEUM FOR SDTHEATREREVIEWS.COM

Words by Kristen Fogle

To see “Angels,” into the bowels of the Lyceum you must go.

(Housed between a CVS and an Abercrombie and Fitch) in the internal cavity of Horton Plaza is the Lyceum. (Who knew that inside consumer “paradise” lived art?) A flight down to the will call/box office, another into the theater itself. An artistic bomb shelter.

As I’ve never been, it is this last visual that sticks as I descend and a feeling of apprehension that remains…which is probably a product of the barely audible, eerie music I am greeted with. The stage is sparse and entirely black save for two brown chairs, two lamps. We settle in for (literally) a day of theater. (Is this a project of will?) The greatest fans of thespians, the best of the dramatic elite will stay. I imagine us dropping like flies, engaged in this made up contest. "Sticking it out the entire day?" the man next to me inquires. “Yes,” I say bravely. Si se puede.
Composed of two parts (“Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika”), “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes” is, if anything, long. With four 10 minute intermissions total, this show is not for the faint of heart.

I don’t mean just in terms of length but theme as well. “Angels in America,” tackles some very difficult issues. By Tony Kushner, “Angels” won a Pulitzer in 1993 and the 1993 and 1994 Tony Awards for Best Play; it has also been made into an HBO miniseries and an opera. The play takes place in New York City in the latter half of 1985 and early 1986.

Act One of “Millennium Approaches” introduces us to central characters. Louis Ironson, a neurotic gay Jew learns his lover, WASP-y Prior Walter, has AIDS. Meanwhile, closeted homosexual Mormon and Republican law clerk Joe Pitt is offered a major promotion by his mentor, the McCarthyist lawyer Roy Cohn. Roy, deeply closeted, soon discovers he has AIDS. Meanwhile, Joe's Valium obsessed wife Harper struggles with his frequent outings and her hallucinations.

The pace is quick and the scenes are mostly short. As things unravel even more in Act Two, (the second part of the first play), a need to escape seems to be a common theme...Louis decides he can no longer deal with Prior’s decrease in health and enters Central Park seeking “companionship.” Prior receives a visitor, an old friend he once did drag with named Belize. Roy makes an illegal proposition to Joe. Meanwhile Harper wants to leave Joe who makes a startling revelation to his mother... There is a lot going on. What will become of Roy and/or Pryor? Will Louis see the error of his ways? What about Harper’s visions? Act Three opens with a looong speech made by Louis to Belize. It contains a lot of good (albeit not exactly memorable) information about monoliths, race, the fact that there are no ghosts in America. (I can’t get the “An American Tale” song “There Are No Cats in America” out of my head at this point.) Prior receives some visits from past family members...Joe sees Roy and declines his offer; after, Roy tears into Joe before he receives a ghostly visitor of his own. (His “cancer” is kicking in and he winds up in the hospital.) Meanwhile Harper has gone missing and thinks she is in Antarctica...Joe’s mother arrives and has a rather comical interaction with a transient while trying to locate Brooklyn...Louis and Joe meet up in the park and decide that they are both terrible people and should spend a night together. Prior is still wracked with illness and tormented by visions (they really need to call this show delusions in America) and gets a visit from an angel (wearing a rather fetching dress). We are spat into the lobby after Millennium has approached. The opening day treats in the lobby look delightful, but like an experienced runner who knows her body well, if I am to get through the second part, I need home cooked food to sustain me. There is a two hour break before “Perestroika” begins.

While I ruminate on the first half of the show, I find myself thinking about the talent of the cast. Jason Maddy’s Louis is so beautifully conflicted. Kyle Sorrell (Prior) is a comic force to be reckoned with (both in sickness and in health). Jessica John Gercke is radiant as delusional Harper. Jesse MacKinnon as fictionalized Roy Cohn is just as abrasive as needed—I just wish his volume would match his intensity at times. Jason Heil sees an interesting transformation as Joe. Karson St. John’s angel is a quirky being, played with a vigor that must be hard to sustain. (And how do the actors remember their lines???)

When we return to “Angels” via “Perestroika,” the stage hasn't changed much. A red phone occupies stage left. One of the chairs is gone. New people to my right. (Do people generally come to only one part?) I pray there is no catch up, and we can launch right in.

Thankfully this fear is quelled. Little background is given. A few highlights from the second half without giving everything away: The angel appears to Prior (same visitation), and she instructs him to find implements. Lots of floating. She induces him to orgasm. Prior tries to get Belize to believe he is a prophet. Harper has been captured by the police after her Antarctic adventure ceases. Louis and Joe get closer, but Louis has a hard time accepting parts of Joe. Belize, who we learn is Roy’s night nurse, finds out he's on AZT, a hard to find, fairly effective AIDS drug, and recovers some with Roy’s permission. Prior and Harper meet in a Morman diorama. Joe begins to accept himself; Louis inevitably calls Prior after a month absence. Louis, Prior meet. But I’ve said too much...How will it all pan out? Who belongs together? (If anyone?) Some warnings for electronic cigarettes are mentioned in the program, but cursing/crude language, two male backsides, and one full frontal should also be included in that warning. Graphic, mimed sex should be included in this warning also.

Despite these warnings, there is plenty to appreciate about this piece, and my shabby attempt of conveying the plot does not do it justice. Directors Glenn Paris and Claudio Raygoza (Ion’s co-founders) get immense credit for their dedication to an enormous script, and my applause for cultivating such a talented cast. The makeup, which rarely receives a nod from me, deserves a thumbs up here, too: lesions, cuts, blood, and a black eye are all very believable. The audio at times is a bit too loud, but it delivers the tension required to move “Angels” from segment to segment. Also kudos to perhaps the fastest set changes I have ever seen.

But truly, why go see this show (and its two parts together, which is strongly recommended)? For one, this is a Southern California revival; you can’t see the award winning show anywhere close. Two, as said, this show draws in some of the best talent from the area. And three, the script has hidden gems, not only in terms of theme, but deliciously funny one liners and blatantly true commentary on love and living (and dying) in America. The angel is emblematic of glory, of majesty, and this play reigns supreme; the angel is the perfect descriptor for this showcase of such mastery.

Angels in America
Lyceum Theatre
11/17-12/11
79 Horton Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101

(619) 544-1000

http://lyceumevents.org/