Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part 2 : Perestroika (Angels in America)
Brand: Brand: Theatre Communications Group
Categories: Books, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction


Used Book in Good Condition

Dimensions: 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-13: 978-1559360722
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1559360720
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Print length: 128 pages
Publication date: January 1, 1994
subtitle: Hardcover – January 1, 1994
author: Visit Amazon's Tony Kushner Page search results Tony Kushner
review: Editorial Reviews From Booklist At the end of Millennium Approaches , the Pulitzer Prize-winning first part of Angels in America , an angel crashes in on AIDS sufferer Prior Walter and declares him a prophet, which is pretty expressionistic-surrealistic stuff, not to mention its cliff-hanger value. Perestroika follows on from that moment not only in its action but in its treatment; for rather than teetering between realism and fantasy like part 1, it's wholeheartedly expressionist. The drama is better for this firmer sense of theatrical style. The archness and pop-cultural knowingness of the gay characters' dialogue is more tolerable, and the play's grand point (which Kushner seemed not to be approaching in Millennium Approaches ) is better made in a fantastic context because it is an abstract argument about fate and human values. The gist of it is that God has vanished (but not died), leaving humanity as the only other creative force around, and we just want more life and love, by golly. Kinda thin gruel, but preceded by so many theatrical pyrotechnics that second helpings of many of the awards Millennium Approaches got are entirely to be expected. Ray Olson About the Author Tony Kushner's plays include A Bright Room Called Day and Slavs!; as well as adaptations of Corneille's The Illusion, Ansky's The Dybbuk, Brecht's The Good Person of Szecguan and Goethe's Stella. Current projects include: Henry Box Brown or The Mirror of Slavery; and two musical plays: St. Cecilia or The Power of Music and Caroline or Change. His collaboration with Maurice Sendak on an American version of the children's opera, Brundibar, appeared in book form Fall 2003. Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and he lives in New York.