The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre presents Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, the first part of Tony Kushner's epic Pulitzer-Prize winning masterpiece. Pitt teaching artist Holly Thuma directs an ensemble cast of Pitt faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates at the Stephen Foster Memorial's Charity Randall Theatre. Millennium Approaches opens Friday, February 20 and runs until Sunday, March 1, with a preview performance on Thursday, February 19. The second part, Perestroika, opens April 3, 2009 under the direction of visiting teaching artist Robert C.T. Steele. Angels in America has not been performed in Pittsburgh in its entirety since the national Broadway tour in 1995.
Set during the onset of the global AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Kushner's epic masterpiece has been hailed as one of the greatest works of American drama. AIDS, Reaganomics, and hypocrisy sweep like plagues from New York City to Salt Lake City. The afflicted and their loved ones brace themselves as physical realties unravel to make way for disturbing supernatural forces. Kushner infuses his characters-politicians; drag queens; Mormons; and a pill-popping, love-starved housewife-with pitch-perfect and painful humanity. The intersecting dramas of humans, angels, and phantoms converge on the arrival of a heavenly messenger. What will the millennium bring-a new age, or the apocalypse?
Millennium Approaches features teaching artists Doug Mertz (former Post-Gazette "Performer of the Year") as Roy Cohn and Elena Alexandratos as Hannah Pitt and Ethel Rosenberg. The student ensemble shares the stage with professional actors to learn first hand from their experience and proficiency.
"I wanted to direct Angels at Pitt," says Thuma, "because in my experiences teaching and mentoring, I have seen how very hard it can still be to grow up gay in America, even in 2009. The play asks us to examine how we as Americans are all connected. Jews, Mormons, conservatives, liberals, black, white, gay, straight, male, and female are all connected, and our diversity is woven into American democracy."
Single tickets to Millennium Approaches cost $22. Student tickets are $12. Senior citizens and Pitt faculty, staff, and alumni pay $19. The Angels Pass allows patrons to see both Part One and Part Two for only $35. Tickets are available for purchase at www.play.pitt.edu or by calling 412-624-PLAY. Audience members are invited to join the cast and crew for post-show discussions following the matinee on Sunday, February 22. The Charity Randall Theatre is located in the Stephen Foster Memorial on Forbes Avenue between Bigelow Boulevard and Bellefield Avenue. For more information about the University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre, please visit www.play.pitt.edu.
Archangels
The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Theatre Arts is grateful for the support of two of Pittsburgh's greatest arts patrons, Henry Heymann and Richard E. Rauh. Pitt Rep Theatre's production of Angels in America is possible thanks to their continued generosity. In acknowledgement, the producers are honored to name Henry Heymann and Richard E. Rauh "Archangels."
Angles on Angels Discussion Series
Pitt offers "Angles on Angels," a free four-part discussion series that will take place Sundays in March, 8-29, at 1:00 pm in the Cathedral of Learning's Welsh Nationality Room (Room 342). The public is invited to share refreshments and coffee while exploring the themes of Angels in America with community leaders, artists, scholars, and fellow Pittsburghers. Scheduled discussions are:
March 8 Religion and Homosexuality
March 15 Political Theatre Today
March 22 Pittsburgh Artists Respond to Stigma and Closeting
March 29 Angels in America in the 21st Century
Production SCHEDULE
Preview Thursday, February 19 at 8 pm
Opening Friday, February 20 at 8 pm
Saturday, February 21 at 8 pm
Matinee Sunday, February 22 at 2 pm (followed by post-show discussion)
Wednesday, February 25 at 8 pm
Thursday, February 26 at 8 pm
Friday, February 27 at 8 pm
Saturday, February 28 at 8 pm
Matinee Sunday, March 1 at 2 pm
Tony Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1992 for Angels in America. He is the author of many plays and the co-author with Eric Roth of the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.
Holly Thuma is a Pitt teaching artist-in-residence. Her directing credits include How I Learned to Drive, Dancing at Lughnasa, and The Recruiting Officer for University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre, Brian Friel's Translations for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Brundibar for Hope Academy, and adaptations of Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet for Shakespeare-in-the-Schools. She holds a BFA in acting from New York University and an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was the 2002 recipient of the MFA Teaching Award. She has served on the acting faculty at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, the University of Pittsburgh, and Point Park University.
