Angels In America @ Berkley Rep

My wife and I were planning on traveling to SF for this production until the London transfer was announced. We already have tickets for the NY run, and I certainly don't regret it, but if I were a richer person, I would consider making two trips to see this one as well. There's something comforting about Stephen Spinella playing Cohn and extending his legacy with the show. Plus, Bob the Drag Queen as Belize is inspired casting.

I seriously don't understand how Randy Harrison is getting all these plum roles. He was George in SITPWG at the Guthrie last summer and created the most bland and uninteresting performance I have ever seen - in any show, ever. His job as Emcee in the Cabaret tour was equally unimpressive - he was totally neutered, under delivered all the jokes, and couldn't handle the heft of the serious moments either. I seem to recall that he was an often minimally clothed twink once upon a time in a fairly well-received gay-centric cable show. But that was 20 years ago (or is it more at this point?), so I can't imagine he's still riding on the coattails of that. Maybe I've only seen him on off-nights, but I've seen him quite a bit and I'm never even just remotely satisfied with his performances.

Anyway, Christopher Caldwell is an interesting choice. He actually has the personality to pull off Belize quite well.

I would see this for Bob and Spinella. But....Randy? That's a big role. I don't think he has the chops. But I guess he must have impressed somebody? 

I, too, am skeptical of Harrison as Prior, but he did receive some decent reviews from critics for Cabaret. I believe praise was harder to come by for SITPWG.

I WISH he was coming to Broadway. 

I thought Harrison was great in Cabaret, it was my first time ever seeing the production and on the day I saw it in Costa Messa the punters loved him and equally brilliant Andrea Gross ( I’m sure someone here will point out if I have the name wrong ) 

If I wasn’t already seeing the broadway production I would see this as well.

Randy was absolutely magnetic as the Emcee when I saw CABARET in Atlanta last year. He ruled the stage and made you forget Alan Cumming's imprint on the role for a while. My concern is neither with his talent nor his age. But man is he cute! And having a Prior who is conventionally white-bread adorable and could conceivably hook any boyfriend he wanted shifts the paradigm of who Prior is far away from the template Stephen Spinella created back in 1992 with the part. Does ANGELS IN AMERICA work with an adorable Prior? Good question.

I haven't seen any of these actors before, and it seems like Harrison got plenty of praise for his work in Cabaret. As for age, he isn't much older than Spinellla was when he played Prior. (Spinella was in his late 30s.) There will always be questions about casting choices, and some may work out better than others.

In any event, I'll see all (or almost all) the performers for myself at one of the marathon days in May. One nice thing is that the Roda Theatre, one of two at the Berkeley Rep, has a seating capacity of 600, so even our "cheap seats" in the fourth row of the mezzanine aren't far away from the stage. While the Berkeley Rep doesn't offer special deals or rush tickets, we got a discount for buying a three-show package, including Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, which we are seeing tonight. (It worked out to $55 a ticket, including free parking, so I can't complain.) For those interested, there are plenty of seats still available.

"I seem to recall that he was an often minimally clothed twink once upon a time in a fairly well-received gay-centric cable show. But that was 20 years ago (or is it more at this point?)"

Um, it was called Queer As Folk and it ended less than 13 years ago. Google something before announcing dates that are ridiculously off, mmm k?

What a GREAT SHOW.  I'm going to watch it on Netflix again.  Thanks for reminding me of the brilliance that is Queer as Folk.   Loved him as Justin, and have loved him in his local NYC roles in theater.  Will not see this considering I saw it on Broadway, which is obviously better.  

Updated On: 4/24/18 at 04:23 AM