A breath of fresh air is what the actors of Otterbein’s Theatre Department so warmly gave us on stage as they struck up this Wednesday night performance of “Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches.”
The Pit was the greatest setting for this spectacularly conducted contemporary play. The design elements and of course the wonderful acting were like looking at a rainbow in the sky after the rain. It gripped my attention from the very beginning.
“Angels in America” was written in two separately performed parts in 1991 and 1992 by playwright Tony Kushner. Kushner covers topics such as AIDS, HIV, homosexuality and racism.
The small hand gestures of Roy Cohn (Jake Robinson) reveal to the audience the homosexuality which Cohn tries to hide from the corporate lawyer world that he has ingrained himself in so solidly. He tells his doctor, “I am a heterosexual man who sleeps with men.” In contrast, Louis (Michael Weingand) and Prior (Cameron Hobbs) have an openly gay relationship despite the stigma that comes with the “homosexual” label.
The opening scene with Rabbi Isador Chemelwitz (Lauren Friednash) conducting a Jewish funeral shows the religious elements of the play. Joe (Austin Ramsey) is a closet homosexual and also a devout Mormon, and he is described as a gay Republican. His religious, awkward and frustrated character really shows the struggles with his sexuality. Joe’s resistance is characteristic of the changing political era that was the late 1980s in America. Belize, also played by Anthony Cason, is the extrovert gay. He is the sunshine through the rain in these depressing and upsetting situations.
The costumes, designed by assistant theatre professor Rebecca White, illustrate 1980s fashion perfectly. The men’s range of neutrally colored suits and the bright and gaudy jackets like Madonna wore in her music videos were all oddly fun and worked so well together.
The words “thresholds of revelations” was repeated over and over again in one scene by Harper (Stanzi Davis) and Mr. Lies (Anthony Cason), and it’s the theme of this breakthrough play. Every scene pushes social limits through the written text, and the theater students of Otterbein establish each character intricately.
Harper’s drug addiction and Prior’s illness contribute to well-crafted hallucination scenes. The music becomes louder, the lights become surreal and the tension levels rise as the production rolls smoothly along. One scene shows Harper rolling around in Antarctica. A white sheet and very bright blue lighting depict the snow that is exciting to Harper as she leaves her apartment to go and explore New York City alone. Prior’s horrifically terrifying yells of pain and anguish during the penultimate scene deeply vibrate through you, as if someone has put a loudspeaker next to your ear. The last scene, which should not be revealed, brings closure and rest for Prior.
Every dreamlike scene created by director Ed Vaughan, an assistant theatre professor, brought out the difficult topic of AIDS and HIV. The surreal lighting (designed by professor Rob Johnson) and mix of piano music contrasted with modern kung-fu jams (mixed by Ed Vaughan) created an ambiguous ambience between scene changes. This controversial play shows the ending of an era in the history of discrimination against homosexuality.
I think you should get out of your houses and go see this liberating play of taboo topics and trippy but well-played characters. I feel “Angels in America” helps set the high standard for the rest of the plays Otterbein has yet to show us.
