Review: 'Angels in America' is in Epic Form at The Gamm Theatre

The Gamm Theatre has just concluded its 40th anniversary season and is celebrating the occasion with a production of Tony Kushner's two-part epic "Angels in America."

The landmark work arrives with the first part, "Millennium Approaches," directed by longtime Trinity Rep company member Brian McEleney (who got to play Prior Walter in Oskar Eustis' production at Trinity in 1996). Written during the height of the AIDS pandemic, the show focuses on a group of ordinary people caught up in terrifying circumstances. How each of them reacts makes for a fascinating study in human nature.

The setting is New York City, 1985. Prior Walter (Haas Regen) and his partner, Louis Ironson (Ben Steinfeld), are grappling with Prior's AIDS diagnosis. Joe Pitt (Jeff Church), a Mormon Republican clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals, is deeply in the closet; his wife Harper (Gabrielle McCauley) suffers from agoraphobia and gobbles Valium to cope with the lack of intimacy in her marriage. Joe and Louis are colleagues at the Court; during a chance meeting in the washroom, Joe witnesses Louis sobbing in front of the sink and offers comfort.

Roy Cohn (Tony Estrella), Joe's boss, is himself diagnosed with HIV. Already in the advanced stages of the disease, he wants Joe to go to Washington, D.C. to help him beat a disbarment action. Above all else, Cohn wants to keep his diagnosis a secret, telling all that he is suffering from liver cancer. A nurse and former drag queen named Belize (Rodney Witherspoon II) helps bind the sprawling cast together, being both a steadfast friend to Prior and a caregiver to Cohn.

Ghosts, romantic turmoil, hallucinations, and an angel all figure into the proceedings as the characters bounce off each other. Through all of this, Prior hears a voice calling him a prophet; at a climatic moment, he receives a visitation and is told that "The Great Work" will continue (as indeed it will, when Part 2 opens at the same theater in September).

Kushner's play won the Tony in 1993 and 1994 for Best Play, and part one, "Millennium Approaches," won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. These successes were not without controversy; there were protests in 1996 in Charlotte, NC, and in 1999 in Texas. Homophobic national groups also protested, but in 2003 HBO Films produced a miniseries (also in two parts) based on the play, with Kushner adapting his work to the small screen and legendary director Mike Nichols ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "The Graduate") at the helm. The miniseries won a Golden Globe, as well as an Emmy for Best Limited Series.

The present moment is the perfect time to revisit this landmark play, with distribution of HIV medications being suspended in foreign countries while diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are being banned.

McEleney brings his vast experience to this production. While not lavish, it focuses on the characters' tumultuous relationships and allows each actor to shine – and they do, indeed.

Church, having just wowed audiences with last month's "Hamlet," switches gears to imbue Joe Pitt with an incredibly tortured soul. His performance is heartbreaking from the start. McCauley's Harper is breathtaking in that she sustains her drug-addled hysteria for most of the show, and it's fascinating to watch.

Regen (Gamm debut) wears every moment of his experience on his truly expressive face. Even confined to a bed, asleep, we're aware of his pain. Steinfeld's Louis (Gamm debut) gives new meaning to a tortured soul, full of guilt and sorrow at each turn.

Witherspoon (Gamm's "Ironbound" and "It's a Wonderful Life") flexes his considerable thespian muscles here, and Estrella's Cohn is a blustering, angry and loquacious bully who assumes that volume means results.

The always amazing Phyllis Kay, a Trinity Rep acting company member since 1991, is perfect as the conservative-yet-bossy Hannah Pitt. Finally, Rachel Warren, herself making a debut here, is also a company resident at Trinity, and a very welcome addition to this production.

McEleney knows that with a talented cast, the work speaks for itself, and "Millennium Approaches" is speaking volumes, if only some would hear and learn from what it has to say.

"Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches" runs through June 15 at The Gamm Theatre, 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick, RI 02886. For information or tickets call 401-723-4266 or visit www.gammtheatre.org.