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Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions

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Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions

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EricMontreal22
#1Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/21/14 at 10:28pm

I tracked down, thanks to Namo's comments the published script of Kushner's revisions to Angels in America for the Signature production. I was wondering if anyone had thoughts about if they were improvements to the play, or not?

AwesomeDanny
#2Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:40am

What exactly are the revisions? I saw a production two years ago that utilized these revisions, but I was unable to notice anything different from the copy I'd been reading for years.

Mattbrain
#2Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/22/14 at 11:12am

Yeah, I'm curious about that too.


Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you. --Cartman: South Park ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."

Brick
#3Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:05pm

I was so disappointed to miss the revival and heard the changes were mainly to PERESTROIKA, and mostly cuts. I would recognize the changes if I read them, but I, too, was curious if I wanted to purchase the new edition.

luvtheEmcee Profile Photo
luvtheEmcee
#4Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/22/14 at 2:08pm

The revisions to Angels are almost exclusively to Perestroika. In fairness, I haven't actually looked at the new published version as compared to the recent production version, but I would say the changes to Millennium are almost undetectable unless you know the play in very very well. The changes to Perestroika are really interesting, in my opinion. There's some added text in a few places; I think some are improvements and add more specificity to big moments, and others changed pieces that I thought were fine. If I remember correctly it's not that much was cut in the sense that scenes became shorter, but that text was replaced with new text. If you know the play well, the new version is worth having a look at.




A work of art is an invitation to love.
Updated On: 3/22/14 at 02:08 PM

EricMontreal22 Profile Photo
EricMontreal22
#5Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/23/14 at 9:55pm

The current published edition does have an appendix with two short scenes cut from the second play that Kushner notes have almost alwys been cut from productions and the show works better without them (one is of Louis' grandmother playing cards in Heaven, the other is Roy in purgatory.)

FindingNamo
#6Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/23/14 at 10:00pm

The national tour with Hadary did have the purgatory scene. It was thrilling to see it.


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Mattbrain
#7Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/23/14 at 10:15pm

Ah yes, he specifies those two scenes as being optional in the version I have as well (it's the one with the still from the miniseries).


Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you. --Cartman: South Park ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."

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EricMontreal22
#8Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 3/29/14 at 11:38pm

I did some research for the essay I had to write about the changes and reasoning behind them, for anyone curious. In regards to the cut scene of Roy as mentioned, Kushner has said he felt it gave Roy, literally, "the last laugh."

Going through the first published versions of the two plays and the one published last year, indeed, the first play has just minor changes

Millenium has a lot of changes. Several of the "split-scene" scenes are seperated and done as individual scenes because Kushner said too many people found them confusing, and the time line is changed a bit. Also, the scene with the Angel is heavily re-written to be, I assume, more clear and some dated jokes are removed (lines about global warming not happening, a mention of Donahue.) The most significant change, which Kushner says he felt was a "missing thread" in his earlier versions, is to the character of Joe. He's fleshed out a *lot* more and, I would argue made an awful lot more sympathetic--huge chunks of his dialogue are added or changed (including now actually asking Hannah if she remembered him coming out to her on the phone, etc.) While I miss some of the complicated split-scenes, I do think the new version, at least on paper, is a stronger work and Kushner claims he finally sees it as finished.

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inception
#9Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 9/16/14 at 11:46pm

This past weekend I went down to Seattle and did the marathon viewing of Intiman Theatre's 20th anniversary production of Angels In America. It was my first time seeing this, and besides finally getting to cross this off my "bucket-list" it turned out to be probably one of the best live performances I have ever experienced. I was bit worried that I wouldn't last, or that I would drop off, but the whole play is so interesting and engrossing, and the actors in this staging were all just wonderful - seven hours just flew by! The guy who reviews for Broadway World on the Seattle page gave Perstroika a review of "meh," but he is full of sh*t. The staging for the first part is against some sort substantial government building with tall marble pillars. For the second half, the walls of the building have been removed and just the pillars remain, so that some backstage activity can be seen, such as stagehands preparing the actress playing the angel and putting her into her harness. A couple critics mention this as just being distracting, but I found the play so engrossing that it didn't bother me; as well the stagehands were all in costume, so it was like we were seeing into another realm besides the earthly realm of the actions of the play on stage at the time - at least to me.
Reading this thread, I can see how the revisions worked to strengthen the play - though there were still a few sort of split scenes with 4 characters on stage together physically, who were in the play actually in different locations. Gosh can you tell I ain't no theater professional!?! Anyways, I didn't find it hard to figure out what was going on.
I was seated next to a woman in her 80's who was with her daughter in probably her 60's. She said she has lived in Seattle most of her life, and was a big theater buff. I asked if she had seen the production Intiman did in 1994. She kind of hesitated, and said that no, somehow she had missed it. She was quiet and I could see she was thinking something to herself and then she said, "Well I guess times change." From the look on her face it seemed like she was thinking that 20 years ago she would never have gone to see a 7 hour play about AIDS in a theater full of gay guys. She was a lovely.

In the lobby they have the regional Tony Award they won on display in a glass case. It was cool to see one of those up close.

When I crossed the border Saturday morning I told the US border guard that was going down to see a play called Angels in America on at Seattle Center. He was like, "What's it about?" I was stupid and didn't want to say about AIDS in the 80's just because I didn't want to get into "that" so said, "Like umm Mormons and angels and stuff." So then he was like, "Oh are you a Mormon," and I was like no and then I then I realized "Oh crap now he thinks I'm smuggling teenage girls or something." There weren't any teenage girls in my trunk so he let me through. :)


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Updated On: 9/16/14 at 11:46 PM

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inception
#10Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 9/17/14 at 12:04am

Here is a webpage with production stills from this Seattle production. These are mainly from part 1. the walls you see at the back of the stage were removed with just the pillars remaining in part 2.
Portland Theatre Scene


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FindingNamo
#11Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 9/17/14 at 12:16am

I really enjoyed your review, inception. It was a lot of fun to read.


Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

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EricMontreal22
#12Angels in America -- Kushner's 2010 Revisions
Posted: 9/17/14 at 3:30am

*Much* better than the BWW review (which, honestly, is something I'm not too surprised by...)

I really wanted to take the boat to Seattle to see this, but it looks like I can't--so thanks so much for your detailed take on it.

From reading a ton of reviews when I was writing my paper about the changes, critics have always had more issue with Perstroika. Sure, it's snobby, but I feel if people don't understand that play, they don't understand Angels in America. It's messier, but it has to be.

"some backstage activity can be seen, such as stagehands preparing the actress playing the angel and putting her into her harness. A couple critics mention this as just being distracting, but I found the play so engrossing that it didn't bother me;"

And Kushner has always made it clear that this is how he wrote his work to be seen. One thing that is lost in the mini-series. I don't have much sympathy for those who find it distracting (and people have said that with other productions as well.) I don't really understand WHY people would have a problem with this, except that maybe they find the play easier to take if they can see it as a clear fantasy?

Your story about the woman who seemed to be saying she was more open to the play now, than she would have been back in the 90s, is brilliant.

(If anyone wants to read the essay I ended up writing about the changes--and it's not a great paper but it does list pretty much every specific change and was a Devil to write--feel free to PM me.)