What does 'Angels' mean to you?

 We're now entering our third week of performances of our production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, and we've heard wonderful responses from audience members afterwards. In fact, on Sunday, as a woman was leaving the building she told me in a whisper, "That was the best performance I've ever seen in my life." We've received great reviews from both the Asheville Citizen-Times and the Mountain Xpress, too. A lot of people, however, have told us, "I need some time with this one," and we understand. It's a doozy.

But if you have seen it -- either our production or elsewhere -- 

 and you're ready to share, we'd like to hear from you:  

What does 'Angels' mean to you? 

 

If you haven't been following the blog, you can go back and read what some of the designers and other production people have said about their experiences with the play. Also, we have what actor Willie Repoley shared with us on the significance of the play not just on a large scale, but personally as well. (A similar post about Angels that Willie wrote after we read Millennium Approaches a couple years ago in the (For)Play Series caught the attention of someone writing an article about the resurgence of Angels productions for its 20th anniversary, and now you can find a quote from Willie in the most recent Newsweek!)

Basically, we'd love to hear from you. Anything you've got... and if you'd rather share in person, we have three community discussions with Western North Carolina AIDS Project coming up regarding the play and AIDS. They are Friday, October 29 after the show; Saturday, October 30 at 2 PM; and Saturday, November 6 after the show. Angie Flynn-McIver will be at this Saturday's discussion if you have any questions for her. And don't forget to tell your friends to come see the show! Send 'em our link to buy tickets online: ncstage.tix.com or they can call our box office at 828.239.0263.

Kat Martin, Production Assistant

We've been learning all kinds of fun facts about one particular member of our Angels production team lately, and that is intern and production assistant Kat Martin. Just the other day we found out that Kat's dad works with a company that owns and flies the biggest kite in the world. For real, it's in the Guinness Book of World Records. It's an American flag. Also, Kat's grandfather served two terms as governor of North Carolina. Remember Gov. James Grubbs Martin? Well, that's Grandpa to Kat. Her uncle, Joe Martin, also was in the news. When the 1996 Charlotte Rep Angels controversy flared up, he went on the defensive to keep the proposed arts funding cuts from going through.

Here are her words about the experience: 

    "I grew up in Charlotte during the controversy surrounding the 1996 Charlotte Repertory production of Angels in America: Part One the Millennium Approaches. I was too young to know what all the fuss was about but it was very clear that there was a fuss. Everyone  from politicians on the radio to artists in the paper and even my parents around the dinner table were talking about Kushner’s master work. My whole life I thought of Angels as an intimidating show that created division. I did not realize how wrong I was until NC Stage began working on their production. The show speaks for itself in its philosophical yet secular, beautiful yet grimy effect and speaks to the heart of what it means to be a modern American.

    As incredible and thought provoking as the script itself, the most exciting part of this process for me has been the chance to learn more about my own uncle. Politicians used the infamous Charlotte production of Angels as a tool to spark a political debate about arts funding. During this controversy, funding for the arts was cut under the banner of censorship although many suspect it was an early piece of regional morality legislation. My uncle, Joe Martin, was a passionate opponent to the arts budget cuts. I had always heard stories of the speech he delivered to the county commission (it has become lore within my family), but I had never read it for myself. Working on this show gave me an opportunity to read Joe’s speech and I could not be more proud or revved up. The power of labels is discussed throughout the play and could not have been more pertinent to the debate in Charlotte. According to Uncle Joe, “This debate is not about the arts is it? This about something more fundamental. This is about the power of government on one hand and the nature of community on the other.”

    This fundamental issue is an essential theme in Kushner’s work and creates the conversation that must happen to create true community and a true sense of “American-ness.” It is a very hopeful sign that society has become more tolerant and the NC Stage production can be produced without sparking a huge ideological controversy. This play and specifically this production will always remind me of the important role that open dialogue has in creating a tolerant cultural identity. I will always feel a sense of connection to this show because of the connection it created for me with my own uncle."

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Want to read "Uncle Joe's" opinion piece in the Charlotte Observer? Click here.

Stories of 'Angels'

As we get closer to opening our production of Angels in America, we will feature personal stories about the play. Today we have our first story about how Angels played an important role in how theatre is a part (or became a larger part) of the author's life.

We welcome the words of Willie Repoley. Willie is frequent actor on our stage and will be playing the role of Prior Walter in our upcoming production of Angels. Here's what he had to say:

"I posted something on the NCSC blog in 2007, when we presented this play as the very first (For)play reading. It has now been three years since that posting, and 10 years since I first performed in the play (as Louis) at Guilford College. That makes it about 15 years since I first experienced the play, at Charlotte Rep.

It seems so unlikely that a single play would keep showing up in my life, and even more unlikely that I would be just as excited to approach it each time. After all, plenty of plays -- or songs or artists or you-name-it -- that once seemed vital and full of life now strike me as ordinary or even boring. What is is about Angels in America? Why does this play still seem so revelatory?

It's hard to say exactly or concisely, but I'll try. I left the theatre after seeing Millennium Approaches at the Rep in a state of amazement, and said to my dad, who took me, "That's why." It was the best I could articulate what had just happened at the time, but years later, I can recognize how seeing the play literally changed the trajectory of my life. Now that I knew firsthand what people meant by "the power of theatre," I knew that I wanted to share in making theatre that had the potential of affecting people in serious and profound ways. So, that's why.

It's also an unusual play in the sense that it is set so precisely in time, this moment in the mid- 80's when Reagan was president and AIDS was an almost wholly unknown and terrifying modern plague. Plays that are tied so closely to one snapshot of time run the very real risk of growing dated. No one wants to perform --or come see-- a play that doesn't feel like it matters anymore. And Angels is also about very specific people, all of whom are removed by at least a degree or two from "mainstream" America-- the lone WASP? He's gay. The white Army widow? She's Mormon. The black male nurse ex-drag queen? Well, you get the idea. But the relationships between these people are as vivid and emotionally engaging as if every one of them were a close family member or dear friend. When I first saw it, the play made me feel like a better citizen of the world and a more powerful inhabitant of the good old US of A, even though the world of the play was fairly far removed from my own life and my own experience. It is remarkable to me that a story about a particular time that is reasonably meaningless to me personally (I was 8 in 1986), and about characters have little to do with me personally are so well constructed and so true to themselves, that they can still engage me is such a visceral, immediate way. So that's why.

What can I say? The play challenges me, and engages me, and pushes me, and comforts me, and makes me cringe, and makes me laugh, and makes me sit on the edge of my seat in giddy excitement at my good fortune to be involved again with this story, and with these characters. I think it is one of those rare plays that actually helps me see me. Like, say, Hamlet: I'm never going to be in his situation, but experiencing his struggle engages me in not only his story, but, if it is done well, in my own. I think it is Alfred Hitchcock who is credited with saying something like, "If you want to be universal, be specific." It sounds strange, but when someone gets it right, it makes perfect sense, and for me Angels in America is about as right as it gets. It is very specific on every level: the time, the place, the people, even the language and punctuation of the play itself. And in risking making the play inaccessible to a wider audience, Kushner actually has allowed it to be much bigger than the sum of its parts. So, that's why.

I'm pretty much scared out of my mind to start work on the play with the specific goal of playing Prior Walter, who on the surface is very unlike myself. Where do I start? How do I present him honestly, coming from such a different place? I don't know. But I do know that the answers will be found in the rehearsal room with the help and hard work of not only myself, but of the entire cast and crew, and of course Angie. And ultimately, I know that the truth of Prior is already there, in the words, and in the very real connections he has with all the people and situations of his life. And I know, I have absolute faith, that I can trust in that.

And that's why, too.

I hope this play keeps showing up in my life. I will always be ready to visit it again. Let's get started. See you on the other side."

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Many thanks go to Willie for sharing his Angels story. If you have a story to share about Angels, please share it with us! Contact Lauren at laurenkriel@ncstage.org to do so.

Keep checking in every Monday (and mid-week, too) 'cause we'll have more stories, pictures, designer sneek peaks and interviews coming up in the next month. Thanks for reading!