Review: ‘Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes’ at Neil Simon Theatre

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There’s clearly magic in the air, a different kind than what audiences are experiencing at “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” but magical nonetheless. Angels climbing ladders to reach heaven, a pill-fueled trip to Antarctica, a prophet falling back to earth, and ghosts of earlier Prior Walters disappearing into a bed are all in store for the theater-goer.

Scottish actor James McArdle as Louis clearly channels Kushner himself, while Nathan Lane is unparalleled as the villainous and closeted lawyer Roy Cohn, a corrupt archetype of “Wolf of Wall Street” era greed. Denise Gough as Harper Pitt, plagued by visions of doom while married to closeted Republican lawyer and Roy Cohn “butt boy” Joe Pitt (Lee Pace, the only major change in the cast from the London production) falls apart before our very eyes. Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite Mormon mother Hannah Pitt (Susan Brown) is extremely convincing whether she’s lost in the South Bronx or taking charge of Prior’s care after he collapses at the Mormon Visitors Center (to find out why either is there, you’ll simply have to see the play).

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Then there’s Andrew Garfield as Prior Walter, the AIDS victim turned prophet who is at the center of the tale. While Mr. Garfield approaches the part differently than Stephen Spinella, who originated the part on Broadway and who will be playing the role of Roy Cohn in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre production of “Angels” later this year, he remains heroic in his pursuits and becomes the lone voice to ask the audience to question what will happen as the millennium approaches.

Even despite a place in time (the Reagan years) that seems quaint in comparison of, the play’s relevance to today’s issues is surprisingly appropriate. Yes the world has changed and, without changing a word, the play’s message has changed with it. It remains a political call to arms but one powerful enough for today, an age of Trump, Twitter, and tumult.

THE DETAILS

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
Neil Simon Theater
250 W 52 Street
New York, N.Y. 10019
www.angelsbroadway.com
Limited engagement through July 1
Runtime: Part 1: 3 hrs., 35 min.; Part 2: 3 hrs., 55 min. Each with two intermissions and a dinner break between the two parts.

(Photos: Accura Media Group)

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