I have seen ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM APPROACHES in full production 47 times. Not including the many hours of rehearsals and tech that take place before the show opens to the public. This is my second time stage managing ANGELS and I have to say, I still find it to be as inspirational and moving as the first time I read the play.

I have been asked many times how the play is relevant today. For many this is a play about Mormons, Gays and AIDS in the 80’s. But ANGELS is more than that. Kushner has written these characters with rich voices and beautiful flaws. Each character struggles with their own demons in such a poetic way that they take on a life of their own on the page. On the stage there is the cast breathing life into the words, giving Kusher’s dialogue a deeper, more substantial meaning. The voices of the characters that Kushner writes are real. And the actors who play these charters show up every night and give an imperative performance that comes from somewhere within them, something relatable and applicable to today’s audience. Something I could never do. Something I admire greatly.

MILLENNIUM closed this last Sunday evening. And I was sad to see it go. To see the world that Keven Myhre (director) and the Cast created, leave never to return in the same way again. But this is a strange closing. Normally, a show closes and everyone goes on to the next project. However, in this case we are moving on to Part II, PERESTROIKA. Another play I have stage managed before. This time though it will be a staged reading. I am excited to move on to PERESTROIKA with MILLENNIUM so fresh on my mind. To see these broken characters reach a place of redemption within themselves and with each other. There is something that feels complete about it.

If you are still on the fence about seeing Part II then think about this, there is something to be said when someone who has seen both plays as many times as I have is still finding something each night that is new and undiscovered in the text. Something that is beautiful and sad. Something that clings to hope, that breaks your heart, that makes you want to be a better person. I can honestly tell you that this is a play you don’t want to miss, even if you see it just once.

The Staged Reading of ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART TWO: PERESTROIKA runs this Thursday thru Sunday, November 4-7, 2010.  Tickets are available online or by calling the SLAC Box Office at 801.363.7522.

L to R: Nell Gwynn, Colleen Baum; Photo Credit: Thom Gourley