ANGELS IN AMERICA:
A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

Part One: Millennium Approaches
AND
Part Two: Perestroika

WRITTEN BY TONY KUSHNER

Directed by Hayley Horton

2 – 25 May 2024

An exciting, epic production in two parts, Angels in America is a complex, metaphorical and symbolic examination of sexuality in America in the 1980s by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright Tony Kushner (Munich, Lincoln, Fences, The Fablemans).

The West End revival production won the Olivier Award for Best Revival in 2018, and was screened as part of the National Theatre Live cinematic release. Later that year the production transferred to Broadway, where it received eleven Tony Award nominations, the most ever received by a play at the time. It won three: Best Revival of a Play; Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, for Andrew Garfield; and Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, for Nathan Lane.

In Part 1, Millennium Approaches, Prior Walter is HIV positive. His Jewish boyfriend leaves him for a straight Mormon and he gets a hospital visit from an angel who says it is up to him to save humanity. While in Part 2, Perestroika, various forces have gathered in New York: the ex-boyfriend and his Mormon lover, the pill-popping ex-wife, the conservative mother, a rabid Republican lawyer, a drag queen and a dead activist… and Prior has the future of the world in his hands.

Full of humour and hope, these diverse characters captivate audiences in its contemplation of humanity and our progress towards a new millennium. It is spectacular, yet intimate. It is magical, yet grounded in reality. With Kushner’s erudite writing and some of Adelaide theatre’s most talented performers, Angels in America is a theatre event not to be missed.

Director Hayley Horton says, “Despite the exploration of humanity and all its flaws, this is a hilarious script. We laugh more than we cry and it is almost cathartic to see the more upsetting parts of our world through a humorous lens. It just showcases Kushner’s skills as a writer to have 3 hours feel like nothing, while laughing at how broken the world really can be.
I love the hopefulness of this piece. While many could just watch Part 1 and live with the cliffhanger, it is the resolution of Part 2 that gives us hope – where the good survive to see the new millennium born.”

CAST
Kate Anolak, Lee Cook, Rachel Dalton, Brant Eustice, Matt Houston, Casmira Lorien, Eric McDowell and Lindsay Prodea.

CONTENT WARNING
Please be advised this production contains frequent strong language, adult themes, sexual references and nudity.

DURATION
Angels in America is a two-part play, presented in two halves over two separate performances.
You can order tickets to both Parts in one booking.
Each Part will run approximately 3 hours with 2 intervals each.

VENUE
Little Theatre
University of Adelaide (The Cloisters)