Director: Show has parallels to current climate
Actors guild to present ‘Angels in America’
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> The Local Actors Guild of Saratoga is presenting Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches starting this weekend in the Spa City.
Part One of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer- Prize and Tony- Award- winning is an exploration of how the AIDS crisis impacted fictional characters in the 1980s.
Millennium Approaches introduces the characters as they embark on their journeys through the epidemic.
Set in 1980s New York City, a gay man is abandoned by his lover when he contracts the AIDS virus, and a closeted Mormon lawyer’s marriage to his pillpopping wife stalls. Other characters include the infamous McCarthy-ite lawyer Roy Cohn, Ethel Rosenberg, a former drag queen who works as a nurse, and an angel.
Local shows will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on May 12, 13, 19 and 20, as well as two 2 p.m. matinees on May 14 and 21. Peformances will take place at Saratoga Arts, located at 320 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
The local production of this play will star Kody Carpenter, Evan Jones, Cori Irwin, Alex Perone, Melissa Putterman Hoffmann, Mary Darcy, Daryl Hirschfeld, Cindy Boyka,Nick Himmelwright, and JJ Buechner, who is also the director, artistic director and founder of The Local Actors Guild of Saratoga.
Buechner shared some behind the scenes insight about the guild’s latest production in a Q& A. Q : Why did you decide to do Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches with The Local Actors Guild of Saratoga? A: After we lost the rights to August: Osage County I tried to find a show that was comparable in text and story. August is about a broken family and how they try to mend themselves. Angels in America is about a broken community, the gay community in the height of the AIDS epidemic. It’s also about a broken America and broken relationships. Q : You’ve called this work fitting for the times, how so? A : It is very scary how this show parallels the current political world. There is a scene in the show where a character says “The house will be rock solid Republican until the 2000s.” This show opened in 1993 and it really predicted our current administration. The show is set in 1985-1986. One of the central characters is Roy Cohn, who was a real person who was most famous for the McCarthy hearings where he helped send Ethel and Julius Rosenberg to “the chair.” He also was Donald Trump and his father’s lawyer at one point. Q : When did you start working on this production? Has it been a challenging one? A : We closed A Streetcar Named Desire on a Sunday and immediately went into Angels. It has been a very quick rehearsal period for a show like this. Luckily I have a cast of very hard workers who really love and respect this theatrical masterpiece. Q : What is the message you hope your audience members will take away from this production? A : The message I hope people will get is: The gay community and the nation have come so far but not far enough. I know that’s really abstract, but when you see this show it will all make sense. Q : Do you have a favorite moment in the play? A : There is a scene at the end of act two with the characters Hannah Pitt and her friend a real estate agent Sister Ella Chapter. They are in Salt Lake City and the character Hannah is selling her house to come to New York City to “fix” her son’s life and marriage. There is something about this scene, it has always been my favorite. The dialogue is simple but the message is deep and painful. It’s hard to describe. Q : Why should people come out to see this local production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches? What can they expect? A : We have taken a show, stripped it down to one set with four chairs and platform. We are letting these amazing actors use this wonderful script to speak for itself. I’ve seen this show a lot and some productions tried to overdo everything and the powerful words were lost. The author himself notes in the script that this show is actor- driven, so that’s what we’ve done. It is truly amazing to watch these actors work. Q : Do you plan to put on Part Two in the future? A : Anything is possible.
General admission tickets to Local Actors Guild of Saratoga’s Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches cost $20 per person.
Reservations can be made by calling (518) 3933496.