“Why is Angels in America still resonating almost 30 years later? Because it still matters today–the story is still very much relevant.”
This was the main message that all cast members of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches conveyed during a recent media conference. The groundbreaking play, which is set in the ‘80s, features a phenomenal cast ever assembled, including (in alphabetical order): Art AcuÅ„a as Roy Cohn, Pinky Amador as the Angel, Angeli Bayani as Harper Pitt, Topper Fabregas as Prior Walter, Cherie Gil as Hannah Pitt, Nelsito Gomez as Louis Ironson, Andoy Ranay as Belize, and Markki Stroem as Joe Pitt. The entire cast will also be playing multiple roles throughout the show.
“Angels in America is about life and hope in the face of death and despair; and about our interconnectedness as a community and how we need to find a way to discuss our differences by finding common ground,” director Bobby Garcia said.
The play focuses on the stories of two troubled couples, one gay, one straight: Prior Walter is abandoned by his lover, Louis, as he contracts the AIDS virus, while a closeted gay lawyer named Joe Pitt struggles in his marriage to his pill-popping wife, Harper. Their fates intertwine as they explore the questions of love, justice, identity, and change.
Among the twentieth century’s defining works of dramatic art, Angels in America is the most Tony Award-nominated play, breaking records in Broadway’s history with 10 Tony Awards including Best Play and Best Revival of a Play. It has also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, proving Tony Kushner’s work remains as transcendent and as potent and timely in its concerns as when it premiered on Broadway over 25 years ago.
The cast shares a new understanding coming from working on the epic masterpiece. With no time to spare, they are hard at work at rehearsals to prepare for opening night.
Cherie Gil calls Tony Kushner’s writing “metaphorically amazing and humanly precise”, while according to Topper Fabregas, “it goes straight for your gut.” Art Acuña calls it a “story that deals with our humanity,” and Angeli Bayani regards it as a show that will “stir people’s consciousness about the world.”
Pinky Amador says that there will be a “paradigm shift” with the characters in the story, as well as the audience’s perception of life, death, and everything in between. For Andoy Ranay, taking on such a role is a new experience for him, “I am most of all, excited, nervous, and challenged to take on this endeavor outside my comfort zone.”
As for the message that the play imparts, Nelsito Gomez simply hopes that it will “encourage people to be kinder. It’s the least we can do, but it will go a long way.”And as Markki Stroem states, it will show audiences what it’s like “to be true to who they are and grow as people.”
Having worked on the play before, director Bobby Garcia says, “We have what is really a dream cast for Angels in America. It’s a cast I would not have thought I could assemble in the same room”.
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches kicks off the 20th anniversary of Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group that mounts the Manila production of the play. It runs until April 7 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati.