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A CurtainUp Review
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
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"Abandoned. I smell a motif. The man that got away."—
Belize "Well it occurred to me. Louis."— Prior |
Maia DeSanti and Aubrey Deeker
(Photo credit: Maia DeSanti and Aubrey Deeker Photo credit: Alexander Iziliaev) |
Angels in America’s sprawling scope makes it unwieldy to stage. But it’s anchored by a tight internal logic that allows intense, detailed focus within an array of intersecting visions and realities. Blanka Zizka’s Wilma Theater production of both halves of the opus is an achievement of disciplined direction and stagecraft. The coordinated production crew with top notch designers executes every scene and transition, and perfectly-timed visual components combine with Christopher Colucci’s jolting sound design and melodic original music.
Actors in these taxing roles plumb emotional depths across multiple characters. The sheer physical toll on them must be huge, especially on those days when they’re performing both parts of this long work. I hope the cast is taking vitamins.
Often theater audiences, viewed from above, could be seen as white cotton fields of older subscribers. It’s heartening to see an audience of many young and almost young people show up for Kushner and the Wilma. Tony Kushner’s multitude of fans who admire his blazing themes and cogent, often excessive, humorous, and startling language get a real treat here.
In my June review of Angels in America Part One I noted that this is a theater event worth a special trip to Philadelphia. That goes double now, with both parts of this modern classic playing. I was away during much of September and October, and returned to find that the good news for the Wilma is that the run has been sold out. That’s the bad news for prospective audience members, as it will not be possible to extend the run.
| Angels in America Part One: Millenium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Directed by Blanka Zizka Cast: Kate Czajkowski, Aubrey Deeker, Maia DeSanti, James Ijames, Stephen Novelli, Benjamin Pelteson, Mary Elizabeth Scallen, Luigi Sottile Scenic Design: Matt Saunders Lighting Design: Russell H. Champa Costume Design: Oana Botez-Ban Sound Design and original music: Christopher Colucci Sept 12 – Oct 21 3 hours and 45 minutes with two 15 minute intermissions Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund based on 10/12 performance at Wilma Theater |
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Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter Subscribe to our FREE email updates: E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message. If you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
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