Signature's "Angels in America" Discussion Thread

I found it to be a visually beautiful production and one of the most organized and NEAT productions Michael Grief has ever directed. He showed real restraint with this project and never let it fly off into the distance (which is something that he often does...). He kept it tight and I was mesmerized by how clean it was. It's a shame your performance was bumpy.

That being said, I was blown away by Zoe Kazan - who, until now, I've found to be a pretty dreadful actress. Her final monologue was the stuff of genius. I was also incredibly touched by Zachary Quinto and Robin Bartlett's performances. I wasn't as much a fan of Christian Borle as everyone else was. Personally, I didn't buy him. Ah, well. Wasn't a fan of Billy Porter's first part, but loved him in Part Two. I didn't see too much difference between Mr. Laws and Belize, though...

The real stand-out for me was Frank Wood's Roy Cohn. For me, it's up there with Molina's Rothko, Langella's Tobi in MATCH and Sir Thomas More in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. A truly magnificent performance. I was privileged to be ushering that day and got to watch him warming up and preparing. He was drenched in sweat from a simple warm-up, making sure his body was prepared for that tour-de-force. And, from chatting with him at the diner around the block between shows, I must say -- he truly transforms. Simply mind-blowing.

HOWEVER, something always felt OFF to me. There was something missing and I couldn't put my finger on it until very recently. It was cold. Stand-offish. The audience wasn't truly INVITED in. Perhaps the white curtain that I first found genius was a turn-off. Perhaps it was something deeper. Whatever it was, it was the only thing holding me back from truly loving it.

(P.S. I was very confused by Grief's decision for Belize to actually SEE the angel in the scene at the top of Part Two.)

I do wonder what this production would've been like in the hands of Joe Calarco. Sublime, I bet.

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Updated On: 12/31/10 at 07:39 PM

I wasn't thrilled with Grief's staging of the scene in heaven -- something felt a little sloppy about it. But it might've been because the stage is so tiny. I didn't pick up on any of the changes, but I didn't know he made them. The Ed Koch reference was in the film, I believe...

I personally don't find Borle to be convincingly gay. I found it to be a performance rich in stereotype. What I always liked so much about Erik McCormack's Will was how believe able Will Truman was.

I think the reason the production felt stand-offish to me was BECAUSE of Borle's performance. I didn't love him. I found him annoying and campy and often would yearn for him to leave the stage. And if you find Prior annoying, how can you truly go on that journey?

My two favorite moments:

- Harper and Joe are arguing. The back wall is drenched in raindrops. A moment before, Joe had walked in the door with wet hair. Sublime.

- Harper atop the filing cabinets, flying high above the world. So simple. No tricks. Just asking the audience to suspend their disbelief and use their imaginations.

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I understand that, Namo. But there were points that the angel and Belize actually make eye contact, or at least there were at my performance. I found it to be a strange choice.

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Yes, Zoe was quite phenomenal. She really took my breath away at so many moments.

I understood what was going on in the Belize/Angel/Prior scene, but I felt that someone who didn't know the play already may be confused. It just seemed an odd choice to me. I, personally, would've never had Belize look at the angel once. I'd just leave it all to Prior.

This was a really magnificent use of projections.

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It's a very different performance than the miniseries. That might be why.

You also may be seeing an off-night. I usually can't stand Zoe Kazan but found her enthralling here.

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I'm very excited to run the marathon in March. I've read the play many times and seen the movie, but there's just so much there that I know some of it is going over my head. Most of my problems lie with the scene between Prior and the Angel. She just speaks so cryptically that I'm missing something. Maybe someday soon I'll sit down with that scene and a hiliter and piece it together.

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I've seen both parts as a 'marathon' twice, and I was there this past Wednesday when Eric Bryant played Prior Walter (it sounds like several of us were there )

I didn't really mind Christian Borle the first time I saw it, but I really like Eric Bryant's portrayal better -- I felt he played Prior as less campy and not-so-fragile, which worked better for me

And I LOVED Frank Wood as Roy Cohn -- for me he was the strongest actor in the play. His mouth fascinated me -- his tongue flicking out almost reptilian, and later, as he got sicker, when his mouth was always dry. I FELT him getting sicker, and weaker, and his frustration with the whole situation was palpable. I think my favourite scenes in the whole play were those with Roy and Ethel Rosenberg

I enjoyed Bill Heck's 'Joe' much more this time. I don't know if he's changed his portrayal, or if I just found him more moving this time. He really broke my heart in 2 or 3 of the scenes, and I found myself feeling more sympathy for Joe than I really wanted to

And I agree with Katurian -- I didn't care for Zoe Kazan in BEHANDING (I thought Anthony Mackie was weak too), but I thought she was perfect as Harper

I also thought Robin Bartlett was AMAZING. Her Rabbi and Bolshevik were perfection, and her Hannah and Ethel were spot-on

I loved the whole production, and think the cast was just stellar. I wish I could see it again, especially when the cast changes -- it could be a whole new play

I think this was my most treasured theatre experience of 2010 (or VERY close behind ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE)

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Enjoyed most of the performance, disappointed that I just found out about the benefit on Thursday, I am sure it is sold out and probably way too expensive LOL.

Really enjoyed Robin and Zach Quinto in the show, I wonder if they are all moving on to other plays after? Also heard an odd rumor that Zach and Zoe are dating, but I have no clue.

Back to the show, liked Billy Porter more the Pierestroka (sp) and Zoe was hit or miss for me.

"Zachary Quinto is an out homosexual."

I never knew he was out?

This is what he said to the New York Times.

While Mr. Quinto accepts the occasional fan ambush as part of the movie and television stardom package, he chooses to keep his distance from what he regards as mindless celebrity-gossip culture. “I’m grateful that celebrity or notoriety wasn’t thrust upon me when I was in my 20s, because I think I would have buckled under the weight of it, as so many people do,” he said. “But I’ve come to realize through experience that ultimately I really do have a lot of power in terms of the way I relate to the public or to people outside of my intimate circle of friends and family. Boundaries are very important to me.”

Despite Mr. Quinto’s efforts to keep his private life private, the blogosphere is rife with speculation about his sexuality, no doubt fueled by his support for gay rights and organizations like the Trevor Project. He prefers not to feed that rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal. He speaks passionately about gay marriage, about “don’t ask, don’t tell” and about the recent wave of gay bullying and suicides.

“The fact that these things are such hot-button issues right now, socially and politically, I would much rather talk about that than talk about who I sleep with,” Mr. Quinto said. “I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, ‘Let’s talk about something that matters,’ ” he added.

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Updated On: 1/4/11 at 11:03 AM

Not wanting to turn this into more gossip, but since I brought it up

Zach hasn't come out, and as a fan of some of his other work, I am not sure where you are getting the photo coverge of him and his partner is, I have heard that before. He is usually just photographed with his dog, alone, his brother or the 2 guys from his production company who are both married to women.

I have heard that he is bisexual, but what do I know?

I was disappionted as well. The acting I'd rate from poor, the Harper character- in Mil- but gets better in Per- to great, Louis. But the physical production bothered me the most. I have a copy of the play and in the playwrights notes it states 'The play benefits from a pareddown style of presentation, with minimal scenery.." There wasn't a square inch of that stage left opened. They threw every gimmick in the book at you. Things glided and swirled constantly. You could get dizzy from all the movement. And during the intermision in Mil it sounded like a construction site going on behind the curtin. Hated all the projections. Talk about a plane, cue picture. You want a vista view of Salt Lake City, there you go. It was all very distracting, down to the music during the bar scene. And with people pulling their pants up and down so much it diluted the power of the most important nude scenes, the medical exam and the garment. Both should invoke in the audience the fear, pain and humilation the character is experience, not 'oh here we go again'.

I don't know whose idea it was to have Prior deliever his final speach in a whisper but it didn't do much for the people sitting on the far right. A lot of very dranatic moments were missed.

I wouldn't have missed seeing this performed again, but they could have done so much better.

We flew in from Columbus, Ohio, on the 15th to see both parts. I thought it was a marvelous production - everything I'd hoped it would be. I was enthralled with all the performances, and it was almost too emotionally overwhelming to absorb and process it all in one day. I was a little nervous after reading all the negative feedback about Zoe Kazan. I have to say I could not disagree more with the naysayers. Zoe Kazan's portrayal of Harper was gut-wrenching and exquisite. I daresay I enjoyed it more than Mary Louise Parker's version of Harper in the miniseries. I thought she was FABULOUS, and I got so much more out of Harper's journey because of Kazan's interpretation of the role. My only regret was not being able to tell her how great I thought she was afterward. She kind of bolted from the theatre and didn't even stick around to sign Playbills (not that I blame her since I'm sure they were all thoroughly exhausted after performing both parts in one day).

Zachary Quinto impressed the hell out of me as well. I had no idea he had such depth as an actor. I enjoyed his Louis much more than the miniseries Louis (I can't remember the actor's name off the top of my head - Ben something?). I had no problem's with Christian Borle's Prior at all. I thought he made a wonderful Prior. The only quibble I have is that I agree with the previous poster about Prior's final monologue at Bethesda Fountain being whispered. I found it an off-putting, odd choice as well. Fortunately, we were sitting on the same side of the stage as Prior, so we had no problems hearing it. Had we been on the opposite side of the theatre, though, I'm positive I wouldn't have heard 80% of what he said.

I LOVED the way Greif staged the breakup scene with Harper, Joe, Prior, and Louis. Speaking of Joe, Bill Heck was simply OUTSTANDING! Again, much improved from the miniseries Joe, and I got so much more out of his character because of Heck's portrayal. I couldn't really sympathize with Harper/Joe to any great extent in the miniseries, but I could with this production. Kazan and Heck made it feel like I was experiencing these two characters for the first time...not an easy feat, so KUDOS to them!

My husband and I have been talking about it off and on since last weekend. I noticed this time that Joe is the only character that Kushner doesn't really give closure to. When you think about it, every other character has a complete arc or evolves to the point where they are changed for the better by the end of the play, but you don't get that sense with Joe. Even Hannah has developed into a fuller, almost completely different character by the end of the play. It really made me feel sad for Joe. What do you think Kushner's message is there? I think - and this is just my interpretation - that Kushner might be saying that when you don't embrace your individual truth and live your life authentically, you end up a tortured, adrift person emotionally.

I'm so glad this thread exists and that people are discussing this magnificent production. I wish everyone in the world could see this - it's that's good. And it's themes and messages are that important.