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A CurtainUp Review
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
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.
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