Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika Themes
Philosophical Viewpoints: Progressivism
Angels in America is definitely a play with a point of view. In case you weren't paying attention (for like the whole play), Prior sums it up for you in his final monologue, telling us that "The wo...
Visions of America: The Reagan Era
Angels in America is pretty much the play on Reagan-era America. Sure, there are others, but few are as wide in scope. The AIDS epidemic was a major issue during this era, and much paranoia and mis...
Politics
There's no shortage of political talk going on in Angels in America. Conservative and liberal characters alike get their moment to spout their political beliefs. Kushner himself is a well-known soc...
Sexuality and Sexual Identity
It's pretty safe to say that Angels in America is one of the most famous plays to explore the topic of homosexuality, and one of the most powerful examinations of what it means to be gay in America...
Isolation
In Millennium Approaches, the first part of Angels in America, we see each character slowly become more and more isolated over the course of the play. There's still plenty of isolation in Perestroi...
Spirituality
As you might guess from the title, Angels in America deals quite a bit with the theme of spirituality. In Perestroika, we get a couple more visits from the angel, and then Prior marches up to Heave...
Abandonment
Perestroika takes the theme of abandonment and goes to town with it. We watch as those who were abandoned in Millennium Approaches turn the tables on their abandoners, rejecting the deserters' atte...
Versions of Reality
Angels in America definitely takes some flights of fancy. While many of the scenes are generally realistic, there are many times when that reality gets skewed. In Perestroika, we've got hallucinati...