Angels in the South End

Last night, my great friend Allie and I headed to the Calderwood Pavilion for part one of Angels in America. It was my first time seeing the show on stage, and I gotta tell you, I can't feckin wait to see part two. Productions like this are the reason I write plays. I'm still overwhelmed with a sense of what's possible.

As Allie pointed out last night, great writing is nothing without great acting. Everyone in the Angels cast was off the chain. But I have to mention especially the actress who played Harper Pitt, Bree Elrod. My only prior experience with the character had been Mary Louise Parker's monotone detachment in the film version. Elrod was totally animated, a life force begging to be noticed. Her Harper was heartbreaking. Can't wait to see what she does in part two.

But really, all the actors made fine work of Tony Kushner's poetry. I can't imagine that his words are the easiest to make sound natural. But they all did, and I'm totally blown away. There is, in my opinion, no high to rival that of seeing great actors do what they were meant to do. Favorite scenes from last night: Roy Cohn (Richard McElvain, badass) talking to Joe Pitt (Sean Hopkins, also badass) about fatherhood; Joe coming out to his mother, Hannah (Susanne Nitter, totally human), from a pay phone; and Harper begging Joe to tell her that he's a homo. Intense shit.

Anyway, if you get the chance, go see Angels before it closes in two weeks. It's a modern classic. Amazing how Kushner was able to see where this country was headed almost twenty years ago. Some of the AIDS stuff may be dated, but the heart is still pumping the same blood.

Loved this production. LOVED it. Thanks to Boston Theater Works for a great fucking night at the theater. And thanks to Tony Kushner for rocking my world.

Oooooh... before I go, I must share my Tony Kushner story. So last June, I took two of my little cousins to NYC as a high school graduation present. I got us tickets to see Passing Strange at the Public Theater. The day of the show, we were walking through Central Park and stumbled upon the Bethesda Fountain. I told them that the fountain featured prominently in Angels in America, which was written by Tony Kushner and premiered at the Public. They couldn't have cared less.

Anyway, that night, as we took our seats for Passing Strange, I noticed a couple of spectacularly nerdy guys sitting four seats away. No shit--it was Tony Kushner and his boyfriend. I almost shart myself, but I kept everything in check. Again, the girls' faces were blank--no recognition of the enormity of the moment. But that's OK, because it wasn't meant for them. Hell, Passing Strange wasn't really meant for them, as evinced by the fact that one of them text messaged throughout it. Ah youth, totally wasted on the disinterested.

(Interesting bit of trivia I discovered thanks to Google: Bree Elrod played matinees of My Name Is Rachel Corrie when the show was in NY. So she's kind of a big deal.)