OBC "Angels in America" footage- Page 2

[once a month]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:44pm

I loved the original productions. I had 2nd row center for the first half, and recall my gasp...and everyone elses, when Spinella dropped his pants and underwear for his physical exam scene. He was as thin as a rail! He looked every bit the AIDS ravaged victim. The wait before the second half was finally written and opened seemed like forever! I went to the first preview perfprmance of the 2nd half. Kuschner and Wolfe welcomed us to the 'adventure'. the adventure began at 8:00...and went on and on and on. They hadn't yet cut anything from the show! Our after-show dinner reservations came and went, and we were still at the theatre! the biggest difference between the play and the abridged TV movie was the removal of levity and laughter. There were scores of yuks in the production which made the heavy drama even more poignant. i truly missed those in the well made movie.
EDIT: It's wonderful reliving this production by reading the script as well as watching the EXCELLENT documentary shown on PBS. Updated On: 4/18/08 at 04:44 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 4:59pm

What time did the first preview of part 2 end?

[once a month]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:16pm

I believe it was like 11:40, but it's been so long I can't really recall. As amusing as it was with such sharp dialogue, towards the end it was too difficult to concentrate, and we were starving. All in all the show-each half were separate events that remain highlights of my theatrical life.

[once a month]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 5:16pm

I believe it was like 11:40, but it's been so long I can't really recall. As amusing as it was with such sharp dialogue, towards the end it was too difficult to concentrate, and we were starving. All in all the show-each half were separate events that remain highlights of my theatrical life.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 7:11pm

One of the most amazing days of theatre ever, i laughed, cried, cheered, clapped and leaped to my feet at the end of both parts one and two. The cast where flawless, the writing brillant and i was blessed to be able to be a part of history. This was theatre at it's finest.

Lets hope that one day it gets the chance to been seen again on Broadway.

Updated On: 4/19/08 at 07:11 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 9:33am

It was a pity that this was never filmed and released on DVD, while the HBO production was great, it had no chance of ever standing up to the wonder that was the stage production. Maybe there is a boot out there somewhere?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 9:45am

Thank you for posting this. It is fascinating to watch that footage. I've never seen the play live and now I'm itching to! I agree, it is a pity that the original production wasn't filmed. I certainly have missed out on a historic event.

~Steven

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 10:33am

That was FANTASTIC footage. I was probably too young to have appreciation for Angels in America when it was on Broadway the first time. However, I fell in love with the play after reading it for a college course several years ago. I would definitely make another trip to NY to see see Angels in America on Broadway. I've only had an opportunity to see local productions.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 12:40pm

Boot? Did someone ask about a 'boot'?

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 2:30pm

I couldn't bring myself to see the plays when they came to Denver. I had lost a number of friends to AIDS. And at the time they were done on Broadway, I wasn't traveling back east to NYC to see shows. I did watch the movie but in hindsight, I think not seeing it onstage is one of the biggest if not THE biggest theatre going mistakes I have ever made.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:28pm

uncageg, if you ever get the chance to see this onstage. Do so. Even a bad production would still sing, thats how wonderful the writing is.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:34pm

Anyone who saw the original production, how does the HBO movie compare?

[ahmelie]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:48pm

I did a monologue from this in 7th grade (...) and I, of course, read the play and I remember feeling shaken to the core by it.

I think it's about time I go back and re-read it.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:52pm

that footage was fantastic. The writing of this show is so beautiful, i only wish i had been able to see the original production, alas I was like 5 or 6.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 5:58pm

As someone already said, the film sacrificed laughs for pathos and gorgeous filmmaking. The play itself is actually really, really funny.

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 6:02pm

I agree. I was kind of shocked when I saw a local production and found all the humor. I was like...SHOULD I be laughing?

I saw the HBO film first and found very little humor in it.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 7:52pm

It was a pity that they took most of the humor out of the HBO production,some of the lines in the stage version brought the house down, as i said before it was the most amazing, magical, heartfelt and a wonderous day of theatre. I had hoped to see again before i left New York but tickets were had to come by.

Hopefully a new production in 2013 for the 20th Anniversary.

[sally1112]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 8:21pm

Amazing. God I wish I would have seen this production.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/19/08 at 9:42pm

I thought the HBO mini-series was funny...enough? I have never seen a stage production but I do think Mary-Louise Parker and Meryl Streep were able to find plenty of humor in their roles. I have heard from a number of people that saw the original cast that Justin Kirk was sort of a mess as Prior though and that Streep couldn't do justice to the role the way Chalfant did.
Any comments from those who saw both the stage production and the mini-series?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:00am

By anychance did anyone happen to see the pre broadway production at the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles?

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:28am

I think the humor is often lost just due to the medium. It was a completely different feel hearing a joke on the TV alone and with a room full of people. The humor just fell in different places for me, and it was often far funnier on stage. Would it have worked to have the humor be more prominent in the film? I don't really like so....

I personally think Angels was written for the stage and that it plays best there. The mix of dry humor and drama just wouldn't work on film the way it does on stage.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:30am

Justin Kirk, in my opinion, was just miscast in the part. Obviously, any episode of Weeds can show you just where this actor's immense talent and sense of humor-style lies. However, I just dont think Kirk had enough of a gay sensibility as Prior in the film. The campy love of glamour, the over-the-top sense of humor, all of those things were just strangely missing and replaced with a very subtle, understated delivery of everything. I suppose his Prior was simply 'too cool' for me. Prior is a large, theatrical presence (and i dont just mean that because Angels is a play). Anyone who saw Spinella's performance should consider themselves lucky. He really 'went there' to quote an overly used acting teacher cliche. His choices were bold, brave, and often hysterical, finding the humor in the tragedy whenever possible. And I really believed Prior and Louis as a couple much more than in the film. IMHO, Nichol's entire film version was just too reverent of the piece as a message play that won the pulitzer.

I will say, however, that Pacino's performance deserved all the praise and awards that it received. In a role that he could have done his tired old screaming fit, he chose instead to find the calmer, sadder side of Roy, especially in part II.

[canmark]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 8:03pm

Thanks for posting this. Last month I re-watched the HBO version on DVD and then re-read the plays. I never saw them on stage--although actually I did see the first part in Tokyo in the mid-90's, but I was sitting at the back and it was all in Japanese (which I don't understand), so it was difficult to figure out what was going on, if you can imagine. I would have loved to have seen Leibman as Roy Cohen. Hopefully AiA will get a full, proper staging sometime soon. Although it was definitely a play of its time, I think we need to remember some of those lessons even today.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 8:20pm

The most memorable performance for me in the miniseries was Patrick Wilson. I thought he was magnificent, and I don't understand why all of the awards went to Jeffrey Wright.

For those who saw the Broadway productions, how did you feel Patrick Wilson compared to David Marshall Grant?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:03pm

Theatreboy - funny: "Nichol's entire film version was just too reverent of the piece as a message play that won the pulitzer."

I thought the exact same thing. I actually consulted on a production recently where the biggest flaw was the fact that the actors were far too respectful of the piece to really make it their own. 8 people turned in really strong performances, but they were all just a bit too timid to really give it the kick in the pants it needs to be seen as a tragicomedy.