Invictus Theatre’s “Angels in America,” with Michael D. Graham and Joe Bushell/Photo: Aaron Reese Boseman Photography
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Clocking in at six hours and forty-five minutes and split into two performances, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” is a marathon play. Invictus Theatre Company and the production staff, cast and crew deserve praise for demonstrating such a feat of stamina—and physical endurance is the least of the achievements! Running through September 7 at Windy City Playhouse, “Angels” is set in New York City during the 1985-1989 Reagan administration, and playwright Tony Kushner captures the fear and frustration of gay citizens experiencing rampant homophobia while being plagued by the then-mysterious HIV/AIDS virus. Politics and anxiety drive Part One, subtitled “Millennium Approaches,” while Part Two, “Perestroika,” diverges into the supernatural, presenting an original take on Hebrew theology. Seen together, the two parts are best described in a word: Epic.
“Angels” is three stories woven together, and director Charles Askenaizer proves to be a capable weaver. The set is an upscale law office that looks to have suffered a bomb blast, with the words “In _ We Trust” inscribed on an entablature above a desk, and a burnt and ragged U.S. flag, torn and charred at the edges, hanging limply in the background (Kevin Rolfs, scenic design). In this audacious abode we follow three storylines: Joe (Joe Bushell) is a law clerk and deeply closeted gay man trapped in a tumultuous marriage with his wife Harper (Anne Trodden), childless and despondent, and who slips into neurotic daydreams after ingesting copious amounts of Valium. Louis (Grant Carriker), a bookish political activist with socialist leanings, finds he cannot handle the news of his boyfriend’s recent AIDS diagnosis, and his partner Prior (Ryan Hake), the living embodiment of an audacious “queen,” must face the illness alone—luckily, Prior’s good friend, the ebullient and sarcastic Belize (Miguel Long), refuses to leave their side.
Michael D. Graham oozes with ignominy as Roy Cohn, based on the real-life lawyer and political insider, who reels with the news that he has also contracted AIDS—ironic after participating in the “Lavender Scare” that purged homosexuals from government employment. Askenaizer runs each scene into the next with no gaps, and the prelude to the latter scene is occasionally superimposed over the denouement of the former, fitting the frenetic energy of the actors like a tailor-made suit.
Invictus Theatre’s “Angels in America,” with Nicki Rossi/Photo: Aaron Reese Boseman Photography
Kushner is a whiz at writing political mumbo jumbo, and scenes often melt into lengthy dialectics or monologues on political philosophy, presented with either great humor or intense melancholy. Guilty about leaving Prior, Louis meets Belize at a table in a coffee shop, but instead of baring his soul, he rattles off a long string of broken tangents, covering every political topic from the Civil War to present day. Belize doesn’t say a word, instead delivering a slew of exaggerated reactions timed to the change of topic—this loud one/quiet one bit and other comedic breaks add moments of levity to the otherwise heavy material.
When “Angels” hits you, it hits you hard. As Roy Cohn’s body succumbs to the ravages of AIDS, he snarls and screams a panegyric about sticking to one’s principles, but he has only ghosts for company. All his friends and connections reward his lifetime of service by stripping him of his legacy. Graham is ruthless in his portrayal of Cohn, like a wounded, feral dog, and the audience is not sure just how to feel as we watch him writhe in agony. Should we feel sympathy? Horror? Schadenfreude? This and other moral dilemmas leave the viewer with something to chew on after the show.
Invictus Theatre’s “Angels in America,” with Ryan Hake/Photo: Aaron Reese Boseman Photography
Where Part One’s “Millennium Approaches” only hints at the supernatural, “Perestroika”—translated from Russian as “restructuring”—transcends the earthly realm into the cosmos and beyond. As Prior slips into delirium, Hake plays them with an intense syncopation; a ball of fire one minute, a wise sage the next, back and forth. After their AIDS diagnosis, Prior begins to hear a voice, later revealed as The Angel (Nicki Rossi), a celestial hermaphrodite with the power to induce spontaneous orgasms. With large, white wings and toned arms, The Angel is imposing as they descend an invisible staircase, telling of the calumny performed by God and of Prior’s predestined role as the next prophet of heaven. All the actors give an outstanding performance—especially Renae Stone, whose caricatures of an elderly rabbi and an aged communist grandee are a delight—and one would think they were trying to top one another if each didn’t balance the others so well.
“Angels in America” is one of the more ambitious productions you’ll see all season. This ambition pays off—it’s not surprising that “Angels” has already been recommended by the Jeff Award committee. Equal parts political drama and psychological thriller, “Angels in America” is nothing less than epic.
“Angels in America” is presented by Invictus Theatre Company through September 7 at Windy City Playhouse, 3014 West Irving Park. Tickets are $25 on Mondays. $38 on Fridays through Sundays (Multi-show subscription packages available). For tickets and performance schedule, visit invictustheatreco.com.
