Project #3: Production History

Jujamcyn Theaters
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 W. 48th St., New York, NY
May 4, 1993-Dec 4, 1994
Director: George C. Wolfe
Scenic Design by Robin Wagner
Costume Design by Toni-Leslie James

But even as Mr. Kushner portrays an America of lies and cowardice to match Cohn's cynical view, he envisions another America of truth and beauty, the paradise imagined by both his Jewish and Mormon characters' ancestors as they made their crossing to the new land.
-Frank Rich, New York Times
May 5, 1993
http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=&tols_title=ANGELS%20IN%20AMERICA:%20MILLENIUM%20APPROACHES%20(PLAY)&pdate=19930505&byline=By%20FRANK%20RICH&id=1077011429136

Kushner is clearly political in the large sense of the word-- concerned with society and its endemic chaos--but he is also a fantasist (the subtitle of Angels is A Gay Fantasia on National Themes), a believer in theater as magic (he adapted Corneille's The Illusion).
-Gerald Weals, Commonweal
July 16, 1993
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n13_v120/ai_14059934/?tag=mantle_skin;content

Signature Theatre Company
Peter Norton Space
555 W 42nd Street New York, NY
October 28, 2010- April 24, 2011
Director: Michael Greif
Set Design by Mark Wendland
Costume Design by Clint Ramos

One of the most anticipated New York theater events of the season isn't happening on Broadway, but at a small theater off the beaten tourist track.
-David Ng, LA Times
October 29, 2010
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/10/angels-in-america-at-signature-theatre-company-what-did-the-critics-think.html

The truth is we’ve gotten used to “Angels in America” in the intervening years; we’ve grown accustomed to the theatrical audacity and intellectual reach of this study in the intersection of personal, political and cosmic crises in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
-Ben Brantley, NY Times
October 28, 2010
http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/theater/reviews/29angels.html

Headlong Theatre, Citizens Theatre Company

Lyric Hammersmith

Lyric Square, King St London W6 0QL, United Kingdom
26 June 2007 - 22 July 2007

Director: Daniel Kramer

Set design by Soutra Gilmour

Costume Design by Mark Bouman

If the occasional longueurs and patches of prolixity are more noticeable now than they were when Declan Donnellan unveiled the piece at the National Theatre, this fresh account demonstrates that the passage of time has not clipped Angels' wings.
-Paul Taylor, The Independent
June 29, 2007
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/angels-in-america-lyric-hammersmith-london-img-srchttpwwwindependentcouktemplatevergfxfourstargif-altfourstar-455223.html

Daniel Kramer has been building up to this for some time, directing Hair and then Bent and establishing himself as one of the best directors of Gay Plays today.
-Phillip Fisher, The British Theatre Guide
2007
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/angelsamericaPF1-rev.htm

Dallas Theater Center

Kalita Humphreys Theater
3939 Turtle Creek Blvd Dallas, TX
February 26,1996- March 10,1996

Director: Richard Hamburger

Costumes by Katherine Beatrice Roth
Set Design by Jurt Sharp

It added to the sense of occasion that the production was the strongest Richard Hamburger has directed in his four years at the Theater Center - maybe the strongest anybody has directed there ever.
-Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News
March 28, 1996
http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/

Millennium Approaches was greeted with consistently full houses, despite the fact that it tied Ronald Reagan's two-year term to the first flowering of the AIDS epidemic--not an appetizing prospect for the seniors and boomer professionals who make up the bulk of Dallas Theater Center's season subscribers

Jimmy Fowler- The Dallas Observer
http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-11-07/culture/blood-and-thunder/

Playmakers Repertoty Company

Paul Green Theatre

Gimghoul & Country Club Rd Chapel Hill, NC 27514-4107

January 29, 2011- March 3, 2011

Director: Brendon Fox

Set Design by Narelle Sissons
Costume Design by Jan Chambers

Director Brendon Fox has the vision for the work's sprawling scale, knitting together gritty, everyday scenes with vivid, imaginary realms through tight pacing and fluid transitions.
-Roy Dicks, News Observer

February 8, 2011
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/08/974691/playmakers-does-right-by-angels.html#ixzz1Q7IxvRQ1

These eyebrow-raising plays are truly magnificent pieces of contemporary theater; and a luminous PRC cast and brilliant PlayMakers’ guest director Brendon Fox and his unusually imaginative and resourceful creative team have nailed it (pun intended) on scenic designer Narelle Sissons’ splendid wood-paneled set, which is chock-full of secret compartments, surprises, and delights. Moreover, the production gets extra points for degree of difficulty.

Robert McDowell, Triangle Arts & Entertainment

February 11, 2011 

Statement: Producing the Play

Production problems posed by the text:

The major problem encountered by companies choosing to perform this text is the abundance of settings. The show alternates between reality and fantasy and also spans the country. The various settings in New York alone should be identifiable but mobile in order to be quickly struck from the stage to prepare for the next scene. The subject matter must also be dealt with appropriately and with finesse in order to not burn out the audience by sounding morbid and preachy. The overt sexual nature of the show must be addressed, especially the sex scene between Louis and The Man in the park. The scene should be uncomfortable to watch but must also share the stage with the conversation between Harper and Joe.  Another difficult aspect of the show is the appearance of the Angel and Ethel Rosenberg. Kushner has stated the wires can show but the magic must remain. Essentially, the producing company has to find the balance in creating a world for the play but allowing the audience enough distance to not be enveloped by it and be able to come to their own conclusions.

Production Problems Posed by Our Content:

I was not a member of this department when this show was produced. I know that they chose to perform this show in the Erica Starr Theatre and chose to have a larger cast for some of the doubled roles specified by Tony Kushner. Again, an open set would be mandatory with the use of the fly rail acting as an integral role for the manipulation of scenery.  The staging of harsher actions such as the sex scene could be handled by dim lighting and the use of shadows . Because of the depth of the stage, the audience would feel better able to witness the events then “participate” in them.  The challenge of the subject matter has not changed but the audience would need to be prepared for it.  The program notes, article in the school newspaper and the local paper would need to address that this is an adult show with themes that are not suitable for younger  or easily offended audiences. This town is not a liberal environment but ultimately the chance has to be taken: the message has to be stronger then the offense.

Project #2: The World of the Play

Macro View:

• Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th President (Jan. 20).http://www.infoplease.com/year/1985.html

The Republican party, in the meantime, rallied comfortably behind Reagan, who was now at the peak of his popularity. His triumphant campaign that fall scarcely took note of his opponents and spoke instead of what he claimed was the remarkable revival of American fortunes and spirits under his leadership. His campaign emphasized such phrases as "It's Morning in America" and "America Is Back." Reagan's victory in 1984 was decisive. He won approximately 59 percent of the vote and carried every state but Mondale's native Minnesota and the District of Columbia. But Reagan was much stronger than his party. Democrats gained a seat in the Senate and maintained only slightly reduced control of the House of Representatives. Reagan's triumphant reelection proved to be the high-water mark of his presidency. The administration enjoyed some successes in its second term, and Reagan left office with much of his popularity intact. But beginning in 1985, he suffered a series of painful and damaging blows from which his administration was never able fully to recover.
Two dramatic events shaped the second term of Reagan's presidency. One was the beginning of a momentous change in the structure of international relations—a change that the president played little part in creating but that he prudently accepted and encouraged. The other was a domestic political controversy over a secret initiative about which the president claimed—implausibly to some, all too plausibly to others—to have known nothing.
http://www.presidentprofiles.com/Kennedy-Bush/Ronald-Reagan-Reelection-and-second-term.html

• Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He's the first major star to fall victim to the diseasehttp://www.infoplease.com/year/1985.html

In July 1985, Hudson joined his old friend Doris Day for the launch of her new TV cable show, Doris Day's Best Friends. His gaunt appearance and nearly incoherent speech were so shocking it was broadcast again all over the national news shows that night and for weeks to come. Day herself stared at him throughout their appearance.
Hudson had been diagnosed with HIV on June 5, 1984, but when the signs of illness became apparent a few months later his publicity staff and doctors told the public he had inoperable liver cancer. During most of 1984 and 1985, Hudson kept his illness a secret while continuing to work and at the same time travel to France and other countries seeking a cure, or at least treatment to slow the progress of the disease. It was not until July 25, 1985, while in Paris for treatment, that Hudson issued a press release announcing that he was dying of AIDS. In another press release a month later, Hudson speculated he might have contracted HIV through transfused blood from an infected donor during the multiple blood transfusions he received during his heart bypass procedure in November 1981. He flew back to Los Angeles on July 31, where he was so physically weak he was taken off by stretcher from the Air France Boeing 747 he had chartered and upon which he and his medical attendants were the only passengers. He was flown by helicopter to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he spent nearly a month undergoing further treatment. When the doctors told him there was no hope of saving his life, since the disease had progressed into the advanced stages, Hudson returned to his house, "The Castle", in Beverly Hills, where he remained in seclusion until his death on October 2, 1985 at 8:37 a.m. PDT. He was a month and a half away from his 60th birthday.
The disclosure of Hudson's HIV status provoked widespread public discussion of his homosexuality. In its August 15, 1985 issue, People published a story that discussed his disease in the context of his sexuality. The largely sympathetic article featured comments from famous show business colleagues such as Angie Dickinson, Robert Stack and Mamie Van Doren, who acknowledged knowing about Hudson's homosexuality and expressed their support for him. At that time People had a circulation of more than 2.8 million, and as a result of this and other stories Hudson's homosexuality became fully public.
Among activists who were seeking to de-stigmatize AIDS and its victims, Hudson's revelation of his own infection with the disease was viewed as an event that could transform the public perception of AIDS. Shortly after Hudson's press release disclosing his infection, William M. Hoffman, the author of As Is, a play about AIDS that appeared on Broadway in 1985, stated: "If Rock Hudson can have it, nice people can have it. It's just a disease, not a moral affliction."At the same time, Joan Rivers was quoted as saying: "Two years ago, when I hosted a benefit for AIDS, I couldn't get one major star to turn out. ... Rock's admission is a horrendous way to bring AIDS to the attention of the American public, but by doing so, Rock, in his life, has helped millions in the process. What Rock has done takes true courage." As Morgan Fairchild said, "Rock Hudson's death gave AIDS a face". In a telegram Hudson sent to a September 1985 Hollywood AIDS benefit, Commitment to Life, which he was too ill to attend in person, Hudson said: "I am not happy that I am sick. I am not happy that I have AIDS. But if that is helping others, I can at least know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth."
Hudson's revelation had an immediate impact on visibility of AIDS, and on funding of medical research related to the disease. Shortly after his death, People reported: "Since Hudson made his announcement, more than $1.8 million in private contributions (more than double the amount collected in 1984) has been raised to support AIDS research and to care for AIDS victims (5,523 reported in 1985 alone). A few days after Hudson died, at 59, on Oct. 2, 1985, Congress set aside $221 million to develop a cure for AIDS." Organizers of the Hollywood AIDS benefit, Commitment to Life, reported that after Hudson's announcement that he was suffering from the disease, it was necessary to move the event to a larger venue to accommodate the increased attendance.
However, Hudson's revelation did not immediately dispel the stigma of AIDS. Although then-president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan were friends of Hudson, Reagan, who was viewed by some as indifferent to the disease and its sufferers, made no public statement concerning Hudson's condition. At the same time, privately, Reagan called Hudson in his Paris hospital room where he was being treated in July 1985, and Nancy Reagan telephoned French President Francois Mitterrand to ensure that Hudson would receive the best possible care. Reagan's first public mention of the disease came in response to questions at a September 15, 1985 press conference, nearly two months after Hudson's announcement. In those remarks, Reagan called medical research on AIDS a "top priority". However, when asked, "If you had younger children, would you send them to a school with a child who had AIDS?," Reagan responded equivocally: "[G]lad I'm not faced with that problem today. ... I can understand both sides of it." Several days later, Reagan sent a telegram to the Commitment to Life AIDS benefit, in which he reiterated his position that his administration would make stopping the spread of AIDS a top priority.Nevertheless, Reagan did not publicly address AIDS at length for another two years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hudson

• British scientists report the opening of an enormous hole in the earth's ozone layer over Antarctica. http://www.infoplease.com/year/1985.html

On June 28, 1974, Sherry Rowland and Mario Molina, chemists at the University of California, Irvine, published the first scientific paper warning that human-generated chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could cause serious harm to Earth's protective ozone layer (Molina and Rowland, 1974). They calculated that if CFC production continued to increase at the going rate of 10%/year until 1990, then remain steady, CFCs would cause a global 5 to 7 percent ozone loss by 1995 and 30-50% loss by 2050.
They warned that the loss of ozone would significantly increase the amount of skin-damaging ultraviolet UV-B light reaching the surface, greatly increasing skin cancer and cataracts. The loss of stratospheric ozone could also significantly cool the stratosphere, potentially causing destructive climate change. Although no stratospheric ozone loss had been observed yet, CFCs should be banned, they said. At the time, the CFC industry was worth about $8 billion in the U.S., employed over 600,000 people directly, and 1.4 million people indirectly (Roan, 1989).
Critics and skeptics--primarily industry spokespeople and scientists from conservative think tanks--immediately attacked the theory. Despite the fact that Molina and Rowland's theory had wide support in the scientific community, a handful of skeptics, their voices greatly amplified by the public relations machines of powerful corporations and politicians sympathetic to them, succeeded in delaying imposition of controls on CFCs for many years. However, the stunning discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985 proved the skeptics wrong. Human-generated CFCs were indeed destroying Earth's protective ozone layer. In fact, the ozone depletion was far worse than Molina and Roland had predicted. No one had imagined that ozone depletions like the 50% losses being observed by 1987 over Antarctica were possible so soon. Despite the continued opposition of many of the skeptics, the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to phase out ozone-destroying chemicals, was hurriedly approved in 1987 to address the threat.
http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/ozone_skeptics.asp

• Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboardhttp://www.infoplease.com/year/1986.html

NASA's Shuttle program was begun in the 1970s, to create reusable craft for transporting cargo into space. Previous space craft could only be used once, then were discarded. The first shuttle, Columbia was launched in 1981. One year later, the Challenger rolled off the assembly line as the second shuttle of the US fleet. They were followed by Discovery in 1983 and Atlantis in 1985.
The Challenger flew nine successful missions before that fateful day of the disaster in 1986.
Shuttle mission 51L was much like most other missions. The Challenger was scheduled to carry some cargo, the Tracking Data Relay Satellite-2 (TDRS-2), as well as fly the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203)/Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable, a free-flying module designed to observe tail and coma of Halleys comet with two ultraviolet spectrometers and two cameras.
One thing made this mission unique. It was scheduled to be the first flight of a new program called TISP, the Teacher In Space Program. The Challenger was scheduled to carry Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space.
Selected from among more than 11,000 applicants from the education profession for entrance into the astronaut ranks, McAuliffe was very excited about the opportunity to participate in the space program. "I watched the Space Age being born and I would like to participate."
Besides McAuliffe, the Challenger crew consisted of mission commander Francis R. Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith; mission specialists Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, and Judith A. Resnik; and payload specialists Gregory B. Jarvis. Christa was also listed as a payload specialist.
From the beginning, though, Shuttle Mission STS-51L was plagued by problems. Liftoff was initally scheduled from at 3:43 p.m. EST on January 22, 1986. It slipped to Jan. 23, then Jan. 24, due to delays in mission 61-C and finally reset for Jan. 25 because of bad weather at transoceanic abort landing (TAL) site in Dakar, Senegal. The launch was again postponed for one day when launch processing was unable to meet new morning liftoff time. Predicted bad weather at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) caused the launch to be rescheduled for 9:37 a.m. EST, Jan. 27, but it was delayed another 24 hours when ground servicing equipment hatch closing fixture could not be removed from orbiter hatch.
The fixture was sawed off and an attaching bolt drilled out before closeout completed. During this delay, the cross winds exceeded limits at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. There as a final delay of two hours when a hardware interface module in the launch processing system, which monitors fire detection system, failed during liquid hydrogen tanking procedures. The Challenger finally lifted off at 11:38:00 a.m. EST.
Seventy three seconds into the mission, the Challenger exploded, killing the entire crew.
http://space.about.com/cs/challenger/a/challenger.htm

• Ryan White barred from school
  14 yr. old Ryan is barred from school in Kokomo, Indiana, because he had AIDS. He was finally allowed to return. http://www.fromthe80s.com/history/events5.php

Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States, after being expelled from middle school because of his infection. A hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, but AIDS was poorly understood at the time, and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against his attendance. A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the case made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education. He appeared frequently in the media with celebrities such as Elton John, Michael Jackson and Phil Donahue. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted and died in April 1990, one month prior to his high school graduation.
Before White, AIDS was a disease widely associated with the male gay community, because it was first diagnosed among gay men. That perception shifted as White and other prominent HIV-infected people, such as Magic Johnson, the Ray brothers and Kimberly Bergalis, appeared in the media to advocate for more AIDS research and public education to address the epidemic. The U.S. Congress passed a major piece of AIDS legislation, the Ryan White Care Act, shortly after White's death. The Act was reauthorized in 2006 and again on October 30, 2009; Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

• FDA approved first enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) test kit to screen for antibodies to HIV. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForPatientAdvocates/HIVandAIDSActivities/ucm151074.htm

WASHINGTON, March 2— Federal health officials say that a blood test to screen for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, licensed today for commercial production, will be widely available in the United States in two to six weeks.
Margaret M. Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services, announced approval of the test at a news conference here. She said that if the test indicated a person had antibodies to the virus suspected of causing the disorder he would not be allowed to donate blood.
Health officials said that thus far 113 cases of AIDS had been linked to blood or blood products. As of Feb. 18, the Centers for Disease Control reported the United States had 8,495 cases of AIDS, an illness that breaks down the body's ability to fight off disorder.
More than 4,000 AIDS victims, most of them homosexual men, drug abusers or hemophiliacs, have died. The illness seems to be transmitted mainly through sexual contact or through blood from a person who has the disorder.
The Food and Drug Administration licensed Abbott Laboratories of North Chicago to make and distribute the test kits to 2,300 blood banks, plasma centers and laboratories. Four other companies have applied for licenses. Mrs. Heckler said she believed they would be approved soon.
In announcing approval of the test today, the Secretary said: ''This test will simply reveal the presence in the blood of antibodies to the virus that causes AIDS. A positive result, in and of itself, does not mean that a person has AIDS. ''The Government will provide the funding for those who wish to take the test and are not able to pay for the test themselves,'' Mrs. Heckler said, adding that up to $12 million in Federal funds would be available. The antibody test may alleviate shortages of blood in some parts of the country that began in 1983, when concern and misunderstanding of the AIDS problem led many people to stop donating blood. The Government said it was important for physicians and laboratory personnel to maintain the confidentiality of test results indicating that a person had antibodies to the HTLV-III virus identified as the cause of AIDS.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/03/us/aids-blood-test-to-be-available-in-2-to-6-weeks.html

• A massive car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon leaves 175 injured and 45 people dead.  http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1985.html

A car bomb killed about 60 people and injured more than 200 at dusk yesterday near the home of a prominent Shi'ite clergyman in a southern Beirut suburb. The booby-trapped vehicle exploded 10 yards from the home of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. It pulled down the outer walls of an apartment block which is being built, set fire to cars and gouged a crater in the road. Beirut radio said Fadlallah was unharmed. Security sources estimated that the blast was the equivalent of 440lbs of dynamite.
After the explosion, gunmen of the Muslim fundamentalist Hezbollah (Party of God) and the Shi'ite Amal movement fired automatic weapons into the air to clear roads for ambulances taking the victims to hospitals in mainly-Muslim West Beirut .
The blast was the worst such explosion in Beirut since the truck bombing of American and French peacekeeping headquarters here in October, 1983, which killed 241 US servicemen and 55 French soldiers. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/1985/mar/09/fromthearchive

• Live Aid pop concerts in Philadelphia and London raise over 50 million for famine relief in Ethiopia. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1985.html

For one day — July 13, 1985 — an estimated 1.4 billion of the planet's five billion people stopped and watched Geldof's "global jukebox," and were treated to one of the biggest, most ambitious concerts ever staged. At one point, according to a stage announcement, 95 percent of the world's television sets were tuned in to Live Aid — an even more incredible statistic when you consider that it happened before the Internet, cell phones, e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging and blogging. Through music and an eminently worthy cause, much of the world actually felt connected — even at the height of the eminently selfish "Me Decade."
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504968/live-aid-look-back.jhtml

• A joint American-French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1985.html

A new era in underwater exploration and scientific research began on September 1, 1985 with the discovery of the sunken luxury liner R.M.S. Titanic by investigators and crew aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Research Vessel Knorr. Titanic, found in more than 12,400 feet of water, was first photographed by the new deep-towed sonar and video camera system Argo, under development in the Institution's Deep Submergence Laboratory (DSL). Additional 35-mm photographs were taken by ANGUS (Acoustically Navigated Geological Underwater Survey), another towed vehicle developed at the Institution and used on a number of major science programs since the mid-1970s.
The discovery of Titanic was a joint French-American effort begun earlier in the summer of 1985 with a cruise aboard the French research vessel Le Suroit to test France's new sonar system, SAR (System Acoustique Remorquè). Dr. Robert D. Ballard, leader of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Deep Submergence Laboratory and another WHOI colleague, participated in that cruise, which ended in early August. Three scientists from Institut Français De Recherche Pour L'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) joined the American cruise aboard Woods Hole’s Knorr August 15 in Ponta Delgada, Azores, for the trip across the Atlantic to the vessel's home port at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.Using sonar imagery in the hunt for Titanic, the earlier French cruise had ruled out large sections in a 150-square-mile search area, allowing the Knorr cruise to concentrate on the remaining areas under a different search strategy. The first visual contact of Titanic was made about 230 miles south of Nova Scotia. Debris including one of the ship's boilers and was made by Argo just after 1:00 a.m. EST September 1, 1985. The seven-member scientific watch that saw the first images included four Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution personnel, two French scientists, and a U.S. Navy officer and was led by Jean-Louis Michel (IFREMER), co-chief scientist with Dr. Ballard of the expedition. Video filming from Argo and 35-mm filming from ANGUS were conducted throughout the remaining four days of the voyage. http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7539

• John L. Sorenson publishes An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Sorenson

John L. Sorenson (born 1924) is an emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University (BYU) and the author of An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon as well as many other books and articles on the Book of Mormon and archaeology.
Sorenson first did archaeological work in Meso-America while pursuing a masters degree at BYU. From January until June 1953 he was involved in the New World Archaeological Foundation's initial fieldwork (under the direction of Pedro Armillas) in the state of Tabasco in Mexico.
Sorenson holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He began teaching at BYU in 1963, and he later established the BYU's anthropology department. He also served as head of Social Sciences for General Research Corporation based in Santa Barbara, California, and was the founder of Bonneville Research Corporation.
For a time he served as editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.
Sorenson has authored or co-authored some 200 books and articles including An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (1985), Transoceanic Culture Contacts between the Old and New Worlds in Pre-Columbian Times: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography (with Martin Raish, 1988), Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life (1998), Mormon’s Map (2000), and World Trade and Biological Exchanges before 1492 (with Carl L. Johannessen, 2004).
While being a proponent of the historicity of the Book of Mormon, Sorenson has also attacked the shoddy scholarship that some have used in defending the Book of Mormon.
Sorenson is the father of 18 children and has 58 grandchildren. He has served as bishop of the BYU 99th Ward.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Sorenson


Micro View:


Crime:
Just 20 years ago, New York City was racked with crime: murders, burglaries, drug deals, car thefts, thefts from cars. (Remember the signs in car windows advising no radio?) Unlike many cities’ crime problems, New York’s were not limited to a few inner-city neighborhoods that could be avoided. Bryant Park, in the heart of midtown and adjacent to the New York Public Library, was an open-air drug market; Grand Central Terminal, a gigantic flophouse; the Port Authority Bus Terminal, “a grim gauntlet for bus passengers dodging beggars, drunks, thieves, and destitute drug addicts,” as the New York Times put it in 1992. In July 1985, the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City published a study showing widespread fear of theft and assault in downtown Brooklyn, Fordham Road in the Bronx, and Jamaica Center in Queens. Riders abandoned the subway in droves, fearing assault from lunatics and gangs.
http://www.city-journal.org/2009/nytom_ny-crime-decline.html


Drugs:
By early 1986, crack had a stranglehold on the ghettos of New York City and was dominated by traffickers and dealers from the Dominican Republic. Crack distribution and abuse exploded in 1986, and by year-end was available in 28 states and the District of Columbia. According to the 1985-1986 National Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee Report, crack was available in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New York City, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/history/1985-1990.html


Central Park:

Strawberry Fields, a 2.5 acre section of Central Park in Manhattan, New York City dedicated to John Lennon, was officially opened on this day. 9 October 1985 would have been Lennon's 45th birthday. His widow Yoko Ono had donated more than $1 million towards the project and had conceived the idea. She attended the opening ceremony with her son Sean, whose 10th birthday also fell on this day. Named after The Beatles' song Strawberry Fields Forever, the entrance to the memorial was located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street, directly opposite the Dakota building. A triangular piece of land, Strawberry Fields had as its main focal point a circular mosaic featuring the word Imagine. The memorial was designed by Bruce Kelly, the chief landscape architect for the Central Park Conservancy. Strawberry Fields has since become a destination for Lennon fans wishing to mark the anniversary of his birth and death. Flowers, candles and other tributes are often left at the site, with floral arrangements often made in the shape of a CND symbol.

http://www.beatlesbible.com/1985/10/09/strawberry-fields-opened-central-park-new-york-city/

Gay Bathhouses:
From the mid-1980s onward there was lobbying against gay bathhouses blaming them for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), in particular HIV, and this forced their closure in some jurisdictions. Sociologist Stephen O. Murray, writes that, "there was never any evidence presented that going to bathhouses was a risk-factor for contracting AIDS." There are conflicting views on this topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bathhouse

Political Corruption:
Datacom Systems Corp., the collections company in line for a second Chicago contract, "stands at the heart" of widespread corruption in the New York City Parking Violations Bureau and benefited from years of payoffs to New York officials, according to a federal prosecutor.
Although Datacom has not been charged, an affidavit filed by a prosecutor said bribes were paid to New York officials on behalf of Datacom for six years in exchange for help in obtaining city contracts to collect parking fines.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-06-21/news/8602140319_1_datacom-parking-fines-parking-violations-bureau

Standard of Living:
How Much things cost in 1985
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.55%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1546
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 10.75%
Average Cost of new house $89,330.00
Average Income per year $22,100.00
Average Monthly Rent $375.00
Average Price for new car$9,005.00
1 gallon of gas $1.09
Movie Ticket $2.75
US Postage Stamp 22 cents
Bacon per pound $1.65 http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1985.html

AIDS in NYC:
Richard Dunne, director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, said that the group would not object to the wider availability of the procedure provided that certain safeguards were assured: informed consent, good counselling and confidentiality, 'which means anonymity,' he said. He stressed that the city must prevent insurance companies, employers, schools and others from gaining access to test results.-The New York Times
http://www.avert.org/aids-history-86.htm

Health Care:
In November 1985, New York City began what state officials called the nation's most comprehensive mandatory effort to help single mothers get off welfare and into private jobs. Seventeen months later, the program is still in its infancy. But it is clear that the task is awesome and that the results have been mixed at best, according to dozens of interviews with city and state officials, welfare recipients and others who monitor the program.
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/23/nyregion/in-new-york-workfare-gets-mixed-results.html

Roy M. Cohn:
 In the early 1980’s Roy Cohn learned that he had AIDS. He fought the disease for about 6 years but then on August 2nd 1986 he died.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/redscare/cohn.html

Subway/Transit :
The 1980s could be summarized as the "Jekyll and Hyde" period of the New York Subway System. As the decade began, it had the filthiest trains, the craziest graffiti, the noisiest wheels, and the weirdest passengers. By the end of the decade, it had cleaner trains, no graffiti, quieter wheels -- and the weirdest passengers.
http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/history-nycta1980s.html



Images and sounds:

A look into the Bronx Burrough of New York 1985
http://sustainablecities.dk/files/imagecache/case/cases/Water_towers_New_York_City_September_29_2007_by_TheBigSpot_MK_B.jpg

One of the many graphittied trains of the city
http://westonefc.com/TRAINS_files/WESTO%20(1%20line%201985).jpg

A popular look of the modern homosexual male
http://cdn1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/198/116/486/nik-kershaw-live-1985-04-13-new-york-city-6115d.jpg

A poster advertisement commonly found in bathhouses across New York City
http://www.msmasia.org/tl_files/news/sex-positive--122485616359048300.jpg

 

Map of ozone hole brought to light by researchers in 1985
http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/ozone_maps/images/climate/OZONE_D1985-10_G%5E348X348.LSH.JPG

President Ronald Reagan
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/large/c30228.jpg



Lesions caused by KS
http://www.edhivtestguide.org/uploads/hretHIV-kaposiLesions.jpg



                                                 Jewish Cantor Levin reciting Psalm 16
                                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_STmAInMXM

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAlgauEijV0

The steps of the courthouse where Joe and Louis eat their lunch and converse secretly.
http://www.randomthinking.info/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/NYC-Courthouse-300x199.jpg

Statement:

Tony Kushner’s epic work, Angels In America: Millennium Approaches creates a world of frenetic revelations for its characters.  The world of 1985 is a changing, challenging and breathing animal. There is a pendulum swinging over our head that points to progression and then back to regression.  Even though we as humans have inhabited this Earth for, arguably, 10,000-20,000 years, it seems as if we are just now understanding the world for the first time.  We are beginning to not only respect the Earth for what it can give to us, we are beginning to see our effects on the delicate balance of the eco-system. With the revelation of a hole in our ozone and the realization that we are to blame, the world must accept the responsibility of the footprints we leave. Medicine and disease have threatened people during every decade but, instead of continuing to fear the disease, people are taking active steps to prevent and understand its origins.  As quickly as we as a civilization make strides in science it seems as if we are thrown a proverbial curve ball, such as the catastrophe of the Challenger. People that we know as a certain identity (i.e. the perfect straight male leading man) we find that they are no what they have put forth.  In a time sandwiched between wars, the world is trying to find some sort of stability, something to cling to.  Someone that they can trust, a steady stream of positivity with an attitude that can point us in a different direction then where we have been.  Enter Ronald Regan, the bright faced hero of many Hollywood films, who speaks strongly of bringing back Americas power using catchy phrases such as “It’s Morning in America”. He put forth that the dark times were over and institutes a positive and empowering vibe for America. But away from the lecterns, people are struggling with more and with deeper loses then we have for many years. The new plague AIDS has hit and has claimed lives, relationships and families with it. Crime in pivotal cities such as New York City has increased and become violent even during the day.  The culture clash between the homosexual and heterosexual groups will begin as we see “normal”, everyday people that we work with or ride on the subway next to will choose to be involved in an “abnormal” relationship. The sexual revolution of the sixties and opulent drug use of the seventies has left the people with questions, addictions and a disconcerting feeling of not fitting into anyone’s labeled groupings. Corruption, an element of history that dates back to the first governments, will begin to trickle down into even the smallest of jobs, finding its way into the lives of those who choose to pay their parking tickets.  Terrorism will begin to have a face, a voice and images that we can watch on T.V. What we are searching for is a savior, a way out, a voice in the dark to tell us our next move. People cling to the president to provide a moral compass for what cannot be evaluated in right and wrong.  Heterosexual couples will cling to a belief in what they should do, how they should act and what status they should propound to the society around them. Heterosexual couples will crumble in the wake of the new disease that will claim numerous lives and will fight to have a voice in the community for rights.  People of faith will continue to pray for the souls of the lost, overlooking themselves in that plea for guidance. The world is treading the water of past decisions with the worry of future ones. Tony Kushner uses the characters to show us the irony of what we wish for. What if the people you trust are the first to disappoint? What if the medicine you take as a cure is the poison that fills your mind? What if love is not dependent on the genetalia of the partner you choose? What if our prophet was a victim and a savior at the same time? What if the most unlikely person is going to help us see the light? What if…this has all been done before?

Project #1: The Facts of the Play

Basic Facts:

Angels In Amercia: Millennnium Approaches

Tony Kushner, English, First Production- 1993, First Publication- 1993
http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4569

Play Structure:
Three Acts, Act 1: 9 scenes
                   Act 2: 10 scenes
                   Act 3: 7 scenes

Cast Breakdown:      
The play is written for eight actors, each of whom plays two or more roles. Kushner's doubling, as indicated in the published script, requires several of the actors to play the opposite sex.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America:_A_Gay_Fantasia_on_National_Themes

Approximate Run Time:
3 Hours with two intermissions
http://www.broadway.com/shows/angels-america-millennium-approaches/story/


Genre Label:
Drama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America:_A_Gay_Fantasia_on_National_Themes


Playwright Biography:

Born in Manhattan in July of 1956, Tony Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana where his family moved after inheriting a lumber business. He earned a bachelors degree from Columbia University and later did postgraduate work at New York University. In the early 1980s, he founded a theater group and began writing and producing plays. In the early 1990s, he scored a monster hit with the epic, seven-hour, two-part, Broadway blockbuster Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes which earned for Kushner a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Evening Standard Award, two Olivier Award Nominations, the New York Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and the LAMBDA Liberty Award for Drama. This groundbreaking play focuses on three households in turmoil: a gay couple, one of whom has AIDS; a Morman man coming to terms with his sexuality; and the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, a historical figure who died of AIDS in 1986, denying his homosexuality all the way to his deathbed. Kushner has also written A Bright Room Called Day and Slavs! (from material not used in Angels in America), as well as several adaptations including Goethe's Stella, Brecht's The Good Person of Setzuan, Corneille's the Illusion, and S. Ansky's The Dybbuk. His work has been produced at the Mark Taper Forum, the New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, Hartford Stage Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center as well as theatres in over 30 countries across the globe. He is the recipient of a 1990 Whiting Foundation Writers Award and playwriting and directing fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Kushner is currently an adjunct faculty member of New York University's Dramatic Writing program.
http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc51.html

Publication Information:
Theatre Communications Group, New York, 1993
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1050

 Exegesis:

Roy M. Cohn- pg. 1638-
On February 20th 1927, Roy Marcus Cohn was born in New York City. He was born into a very political family, as his dad was a New York state judge and an important figure in the Democratic Party. He went to Columbia Law School and after he graduated college he used his connections to become Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. In 1951 he was part of the trial in the prosecution of 11 leaders of the American Communist Party. In 1952 Roy Cohn was appointed chief counsel to the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate by Joseph McCarthy. Roy Cohn than recruited his best friend David Schine to become his chief consultant. After Cohn hired Schine rumors began circulating about Roy Cohn and David Schine’s and if they were having a sexual relationship. There sexual relationship than became public in the Los Vagas Sun on October 25, 1952. Then in October 1953 McCarthy began investigating communism in the military. Due to Joseph McCarthy’s claims after investigating, he tried to go against Secretary of the Army, Robert Stevens. President Eisenhower then decided it was time to bring out news on McCarthy. In this news it said that Roy Cohn tried to prevent David Schine from being drafted and this abused congressional privilege. After that failed, on December 15th, 1953, Drew Pearson who was a newspaper columnist published an article that claimed that Cohn tried to pressurize the Army to grant Schine special privileges.
In result of this there were Senate hearings against McCarthy and Cohn. McCarthy was then condemned from his political position in the Senate and Cohn was forced to resign. After Roy Cohn was forced to resign he than joined a law firm in New York, in which he worked at for many years. In the early 1980’s Roy Cohn learned that he had AIDS. He fought the disease for about 6 years but then on August 2nd 1986 he died. A quote that many people remember Roy Cohn saying was, "My idea of real power is not people who hold office. They're here today and gone tomorrow. Power means the ability to get things done. It stems from friendship in my case." His life was then made into a movie in 1992, called “Citizen Cohn.”
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/redscare/cohn.html
Rabbi-pg. 1638-
the chief religious official of a synagogue, trained usually in a theological seminary and duly ordained, who delivers the sermon at a religious service and performs ritualistic, pastoral, educational, and other functions in and related to his or her capacity as a spiritual leader of judaism and the Jewish community.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rabbi
Yarzheit Candle- pg. 1638-
The meaning of the word "Yahrzeit" is the one year anniversary of the death. The Yahrzeit Candle is also called a "memorial candle", and just as the name suggests, this is a special candle or electric bulb that is lit in the commemoration of a loved one's death. It is customary to light a Yahrzeit candle during the Shivah (a ritual in which the loved ones of the departed sit and mourn for the 7 days after the beloved passed away) at the house of the departed or at the place the mourners are sitting the Shivah, as well as on five different occasions during each year (according to the Hebrew calendar): the Yahrzeit, Yom Kippur, and the 3 pilgrimage festivals - Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot (every occasion in which the prayer of Yizkor (the Memorial service) is recited at the synagogue). This candle is traditionally lit by the parents, spouse, siblings and children of the departed both at home as well as at the grave-site, where there is a special box next to each grave that protects it from the wind.
http://www.judaica-guide.com/yahrzeit_candle/
WASPS- pg. 1641-
A White Anglo-Saxon Protestant - a person of English descent who follows one of the branches of Protestanism, typically Anglicanism (Church of England); Anglo-Saxon is not be mixed up with just Caucasian, Anglo-Saxon refers to the Germanic invaders who conquered England shortly after the Romans fell from power, thus it refers to strictly to English people and their descendants.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wasp%3Cwhite%20anglo-saxon%20protestant%3E
Ethel Rosenberg- pg. 1637- 
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg was born September 28, 1915 in New York City to Barnet and Tessie Greenglass. Her father ran a repair shop for sewing machines, but was barely able to provide for his wife and four children. The Greenglass family lived in a shabby tenement that was unheated. Ethel, the only daughter, showed that she was a strong willed and intelligent girl. Ethel attended a religious school, Downtown Talmud Torah, and then Seward Park High School, where she graduated at the age of only 15. Ethel became a clerk for a shipping company immediately after finishing school. She remained at this job for the next four years until she was let go because of her role as the organizer of a strike of 150 women workers. Ethel was not just an activist at work, she was also interested in politics. Ethel joined the Young Communist League and eventually became a member of the American Communist Party. In addition to her clerk job, Ethel enjoyed singing, alone as well as with a choir. Ethel was waiting to go on stage to sing at a New Years Eve benefit when she first met Julius Rosenberg. The couple was married not long afterwards in the summer of 1939. Although mentally tough, Ethel Rosenberg's body was weak. She was not healthy enough to work after the Rosenberg's were married.  Instead, Ethel stayed home with their two sons Michael and Robert. By the summer of 1950, Ethel's younger brother, David Greenglass, had named Julius as a participant in the spy ring. The FBI questioned her husband and eventually placed him under arrest. On August 11, 1950, Ethel Rosenberg was herself arrested. At trial Ruth Greenglass, Ethel's sister-in-law, implicated Ethel in the atomic spy ring by testifying that Ethel had been the one to type the notes provided by David Greenglass. This testimony sealed Ethel's fate. She was found guilty of espionage along with Julius Rosenberg and on April 5, 1951 was sentenced to death. For the next two years, Ethel Rosenberg lived on death row at Sing Sing prison maintaining her innocence and hoping for leniency. It never came. On June 19, 1953, Ethel was put to death in the electric chair.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/rosenb/ros_bero.htm

AIDS- pg. 1649-

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. CDC estimates that about 56,000 people in the United States contracted HIV in 2006.

There are two types of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2. In the United States, unless otherwise noted, the term “HIV” primarily refers to HIV-1. Both types of HIV damage a person’s body by destroying specific blood cells, called CD4+ T cells, which are crucial to helping the body fight diseases. Within a few weeks of being infected with HIV, some people develop flu-like symptoms that last for a week or two, but others have no symptoms at all. People living with HIV may appear and feel healthy for several years. However, even if they feel healthy, HIV is still affecting their bodies. All people with HIV should be seen on a regular basis by a health care provider experienced with treating HIV infection. Many people with HIV, including those who feel healthy, can benefit greatly from current medications used to treat HIV infection. These medications can limit or slow down the destruction of the immune system, improve the health of people living with HIV, and may reduce their ability to transmit HIV. Untreated early HIV infection is also associated with many diseases including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and cancer.  Support services are also available to many people with HIV. These services can help people cope with their diagnosis, reduce risk behavior, and find needed services. AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection, when a person’s immune system is severely damaged and has difficulty fighting diseases and certain cancers. Before the development of certain medications, people with HIV could progress to AIDS in just a few years. Currently, people can live much longer - even decades - with HIV before they develop AIDS. This is because of “highly active” combinations of medications that were introduced in the mid 1990s.
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/

K.S.- pg. 1641-
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a cancer-like disease. It originally was known as a disease affecting elderly men of Eastern European or Mediterranean background. KS also occurs in African men and people with a weakened immune system. The most common cause of KS now is HIV infection. KS is a sign of AIDS.
http://www.thebody.com/content/art6061.html
neo-Hegelian-
Absolute idealism is an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G. W. F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole. Hegel asserted that in order for the thinking subject (human reason or consciousness) to be able to know its object (the world) at all, there must be in some sense an identity of thought and being. Otherwise, the subject would never have access to the object and we would have no certainty about any of our knowledge of the world. To account for the differences between thought and being, however, as well as the richness and diversity of each, the unity of thought and being cannot be expressed as the abstract identity "A=A". Absolute idealism is the attempt to demonstrate this unity using a new "speculative" philosophical method, which requires new concepts and rules of logic. According to Hegel, the absolute ground of being is essentially a dynamic, historical process of necessity that unfolds by itself in the form of increasingly complex forms of being and of consciousness, ultimately giving rise to all the diversity in the world and in the concepts with which we think and make sense of the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-hegelian
Valium- pg. 1637-
Diazepam is used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures and to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal. Diazepam comes as a tablet, extended-release (long-acting) capsule, and concentrate (liquid) to take by mouth. Do not open, chew, or crush the extended-release capsules; swallow them whole. It is usually taken 1-4 times a day and may be taken with or without food. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take diazepam exactly as directed. Diazepam concentrate (liquid) comes with a specially marked dropper for measuring the dose. Ask your pharmacist to show you how to use the dropper. Dilute the concentrate in water, juice, or carbonated beverages just before taking it. It also may be mixed with applesauce or pudding just before taking the dose. Diazepam can be habit-forming. Do not take a larger dose, take it more often, or for a longer time than your doctor tells you to. Tolerance may develop with long-term or excessive use, making the drug less effective. This medication must be taken regularly to be effective. Do not skip doses even if you feel that you do not need them. Do not take diazepam for more than 4 months or stop taking this medication without talking to your doctor. Stopping the drug suddenly can worsen your condition and cause withdrawal symptoms (anxiousness, sleeplessness, and irritability). Your doctor probably will decrease your dose gradually.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000556/
Ronald Reagan- pg. 1644-
President of the United States from 1981-1989, Ronald Reagan was known as a staunch conservative, a cheery optimist, and an implacable foe of Soviet communism. Reagan began his career as a sports announcer on radio, then moved to Hollywood and became a movie star. Reagan made over fifty movies as a reliable supporting actor or benign leading man, but his real calling seemed to be in politics. He served as the governor of California (1967-75) and then in 1980 defeated Democrat Jimmy Carter to become the 40th U.S. president. He advocated lower taxes and higher defense spending, and aggressively challenged the Soviet Union with his rhetoric. His two terms in office were clouded by an exploding budget deficit, high unemployment and deep recession, and, in the last years, a back-door scheme to fund anti-communist forces in Central America -- the so-called Iran Contra affair that led to the trial and conviction (later overturned) of Lt. Col. Oliver North. Reagan, however, emerged from the troubles unscathed, and went on to become a hero of the Republican Party. He stepped down after two full terms and was succeeded by his vice-president, George Bush the elder. In 1994 Reagan announced that he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease. He spent the next ten years in seclusion and increasingly poor health until his death in 2004. Reagan married the actress Nancy Davis on 4 March 1952; he previously had been married to actress Jane Wyman from 1941-48... He had four children, Maureen and Michael (with Wyman) and Patricia and Ron Jr. (with Nancy Reagan)... In March of 1981, Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr., an unbalanced fan of actress Jodie Foster... For Reagan's 1994 letter to Americans about his Alzheimer's disease, see this page from the Reagan Library... Reagan wrote two autobiographies: Where's the Rest of Me? (1965, updated in 1981) and An American Life (1990)... In 2003 another actor became governor of California: Arnold Schwarzenegger... Reagan often spent time at Rancho del Cielo, his ranch north of Santa Barbara; the ranch was about 18 miles from the Neverland Ranch of pop star Michael Jackson.
http://www.answers.com/topic/ronald-reagan
Mormon- pg. 1639-
Mormon" is a term commonly applied to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church is sometimes inaccurately called the "Mormon Church" because its members believe that the Book of Mormon is an additional volume of scripture to the Bible. The Book of Mormon is named after Mormon, a fourth-century prophet-historian who compiled and abridged many records of his ancestors into the Book of Mormon. Mormons live and work in every state of the United States and throughout the world. They value their family, their communities and the countries where they reside. They actively participate in business and agriculture, education and the sciences, government, the entertainment industry and news media. They work in public service and professional fields and serve as ambassadors, legislators, judges, and CEOs. There are currently five U.S. senators, including the senate majority leader, who are Mormon.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the fourth-largest religious institution in America, with over 6 million members in the United States and a total of nearly 14 million worldwide. While the term "Mormon Church" has long been publicly applied to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a nickname, it is not an official title, and the Church encourages the use of the full authorized title. There are nearly 28,000 Mormon congregations worldwide, with meetings held in more than 180 languages, and Sunday services are open for anyone to attend. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well known for its humanitarian work and has teamed up with Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross, UNICEF, and many other agencies to help relieve suffering throughout the world. The Church also operates the world's largest genealogical library, located in Salt Lake City, and has one of the world's largest databases of online genealogical records. This database can be accessed for free by anyone at FamilySearch. Mormon was an actual historical figure in the Book of Mormon. He was a prophet, military general, and record keeper who lived about A.D. 311-385 on the American Continent. He was a military leader for most of his life, beginning at age fifteen. He also kept extensive historical and spiritual records of his people, who lived in the Americas. After recording the history of his own lifetime, he compiled and abridged the records, engraved on plates of gold, of previous prophets. These plates were part of the record from which the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon in the early 19th century.
http://lds.org/topic/mormon/

Fable:
Act 1:
“Angels in America” tells the story of modern societal decline in the face of an upcoming new millennium.  The story creates a web of life that links the central characters together. Joseph Pitt, an up and coming chief clerk for the Court of Appeals is married to an agoraphobic Valium addict named Harper. The marriage, deeply rooted in the traditions of the Mormon faith, is a complex web of lies about themselves and their wants. 
Act 2:
While Joseph struggles with his own sexuality and Harper falls deeper into her dream world of hallucinations, the couple become separated both in intentions and in love.  When Joseph is offered a new position in Washington to advance his career, the couple must come to an understanding…no matter what it might be.  Meanwhile, a gay couple, Louis Ironson and Prior Walter must come to terms with the reality of being infected with HIV. As Prior’s health deteriorates. Louise is finding himself torn between the pain of watching his lover die and finding a new love in his new work associate, Joseph. 
Act 3:
Both Harper and Prior are haunted by dreams and hallucinations, revealing to them what lies on the other side of their “threshold of reality” about their relationships and their own lives. The religious element of this play is propounded by the presence of The Angel, which is four divine emanations manifest in to One: Fluor, Phosphor, Lumen and Candle.  The Angel will choose Prior to be the prophet of the new millennium to carry the message of truth to the masses.

Plot Summary:
Angels in America focuses on the stories of two troubled couples, one gay, one straight: "word processor" Louis Ironson and his lover Prior Walter, and Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt and his wife Harper. After the funeral of Louis's grandmother, Prior tells him that he has contracted AIDS, and Louis panics. He tries to care for Prior but soon realizes he cannot stand the strain and fear. Meanwhile, Joe is offered a job in the Justice Department by Roy Cohn, his right-wing, bigoted mentor and friend. But Harper, who is addicted to Valium and suffers anxiety and hallucinations, does not want to move to Washington.
The two couples' fates quickly become intertwined: Joe stumbles upon Louis crying in the bathroom of the courthouse where he works, and they strike up an unlikely friendship based in part on Louis's suspicion that Joe is gay. Harper and Prior also meet, in a fantastical mutual dream sequence in which Prior, operating on the "threshold of revelation," reveals to Harper that her husband is a closeted homosexual. Harper confronts Joe, who denies it but says he has struggled inwardly with the issue. Roy receives a different kind of surprise: At an appointment with his doctor Henry, he learns that he too has been diagnosed with AIDS. But Roy, who considers gay men weak and ineffectual, thunders that he has nothing in common with them—AIDS is a disease of homosexuals, whereas he has "liver cancer." Henry, disgusted, urges him to use his clout to obtain an experimental AIDS drug.
Prior's illness and Harper's terrors both grow worse. Louis strays from Prior's bedside to seek anonymous sex in Central Park at night. Fortunately, Prior has a more reliable caretaker in Belize, an ex-drag queen and dear friend. Prior confesses to Belize that he has been hearing a wonderful and mysterious voice; Belize is skeptical, but once he leaves we hear the voice speak to Prior, telling him she is a messenger who will soon arrive for him. As the days pass, Louis and Joe grow closer and the sexual tinge in their banter grows more and more obvious. Finally, Joe drunkenly telephones his mother Hannah in Salt Lake City to tell her that he is a homosexual, but Hannah tells him he is being ridiculous. Nonetheless, she makes plans to sell her house and come to New York to put things right. In a tense and climactic scene, Joe tells Harper about his feelings, and she screams at him to leave, while simultaneously Louis tells Prior he is moving out.
The disconsolate Prior is awakened one night by the ghosts of two ancestors who tell him they have come to prepare the way for the unseen messenger. Tormented by such supernatural appearances and by his anguish over Louis, Prior becomes increasingly desperate. Joe, equally distraught in his own way, tells Roy he cannot accept his offer; Roy explodes at him and calls him a "sissy." He then tells Joe about his greatest achievement, illegally intervening in the espionage trial of Ethel Rosenberg in the 1950s and guaranteeing her execution. Joe is shocked by Roy's lack of ethics. When Joe leaves, the ghost of Ethel herself appears, having come to witness Roy's last days on earth. In the climax of Part One, Joe follows Louis to the park, then accompanies him home for sex, while Prior's prophetic visions culminate in the appearance of an imposing and beautiful Angel who crashes through the roof of his apartment and proclaims, "The Great Work begins."
http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/angels/summary.html

Characters:
Prior Walter – A gay man with AIDS. Throughout the play, he experiences various heavenly visions. When the play begins, he is dating Louis Ironson. His best friend is a nurse named Belize.
Louis Ironson – Prior's boyfriend. Unable to deal with Prior's disease, he ultimately abandons him. He meets Joe Pitt and later begins a relationship with him.
Harper Pitt – A neurotic Mormon housewife with incessant Valium-induced hallucinations. After a revelation from Prior (whom she meets when his heavenly vision and her hallucination cross paths), she discovers that her husband is gay and struggles with it, considering it a betrayal of her marriage.
Joe Pitt – Harper's husband and a deeply closeted gay Mormon who works for Roy Cohn. Joe eventually abandons his wife for a relationship with Louis. Throughout the play, he struggles with his sexual identity.
Roy Cohn – A closeted gay lawyer, based on real life Roy Cohn. Just as in history, it is eventually revealed that he has contracted AIDS, which he insists is liver cancer in order to preserve his reputation.
Ethel Rosenberg – The ghost of a woman executed for being a Communist spy, based on the real life Ethel Rosenberg. She visits Roy, whom she blames for her conviction.
Hannah Pitt – Joe's mother. She moves to New York after her son drunkenly comes out to her on the phone. She arrives to find that Joe has abandoned his wife.
Belize – A former drag queen, he is Prior's ex-boyfriend and best friend. He later becomes Roy Cohn's nurse.
The Voice/Angel – A messenger from Heaven who visits Prior and tells him he's a prophet.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America:_A_Gay_Fantasia_on_National_Themes#Characters

Henry -  Roy's doctor, whom Roy threatens with destruction lest he refer to him as a homosexual.

Emily -  A nurse who attends to Prior in the hospital. 

Martin Heller -  A Justice Department official and political ally of Roy's. Martin is fundamentally spineless, allowing Roy to manipulate him in order to impress Joe and then taking the abuse that Roy heaps on him along with a blackmail threat.

Sister Ella Chapter -  A real estate agent who handles the sale of Hannah's house in Salt Lake. Like Emily, she urges her friend to settle down and remain at home.

Prior I and Prior II  -  Prior's ancestors who are summoned from the dead to help prepare the way for the Angel's arrival. Prior I is a medieval farmer, Prior II a seventeenth- century Londoner who is more sophisticated and cosmopolitan in outlook. Both men died of the plague.

Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov -  The World's Oldest Living Bolshevik, who delivers the tirade that marks the beginning of Perestroika. Prelapsarianov criticizes the pettiness of modern American life, the pointless quality of life in the absence of a governing theory.

The Mormon Mother  -  A dummy from the diorama at the Mormon Visitor's Center who is silenced while her husband and son speak. The Mormon mother comes to life, however, and accompanies Harper while sharing painful truths about life and change.

Sarah Ironson -  Louis's grandmother, Sarah's funeral takes place in the first scene of Millennium. Prior encounters her in Heaven, playing cards with Rabbi Chemelwitz.

http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/angels/characters.html

Characters and Casting:

The casting for this particular show must stay true to the notes set down by the playwright, Tony Kushner. One of the many particularities of Angels in America is that each of the eight main actors has one or several other minor roles to play: for example, the actor playing the nurse Emily also embodies the Angel of America. And in this multiple doubling of roles, the gender of each character is deliberately played upon: the actor playing Hannah, Joe's mother, also plays the part of the Rabbi. This is what is referred to as "Genderfuck", which shows a dramatist's deliberate will to throw some light on the arbitrariness and elasticity of the traditional notions of gender categories, thereby proved to be social constructs. This need to de-emphasize gender is imperative to applying this story to anyone, anywhere.  Therefore, the casting would be as follows:

Roy M. Cohn, Prior 2: Male
Joseph Porter Pitt, Prior 1, Eskimo: Male
Harper Amaty Pitt, Martin Heller: Female
Louis Ironson: Male
Prior Walter, Man in Park: Male
Hannah Porter Pitt, Rabbi Isisor Chemelwitz, Henry, Ethel Rosenberg: Female
Belize, Mr. Lies: Male

The Angel, The Voice, Emily, Sister Ella Chapter, the Woman in the South Bronx: Female

          Even if given the opportunity to cast many actors from a company, I would decline because of the original intent of Tony Kushner.  He specifically asks for a “paired down style of presentation…employing the cast as well as the stagehands- which makes for an actor-driven event, as this must be.” Too many actors would, I believe, distract from the centralized and focused story with its intricate webbing of the lives of the aforementioned characters.

While Mr. Kushner is specific about his needs for gender casting and the doubling of roles, his requirements for ethnicity are almost non-existent.  For the actors portraying Roy M. Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg and their subsequent other roles, the look of would need to slightly allude to their historical counterparts. In other words, both would need to be Caucasian with a nod toward their Jewish heritage. I envision Harper and her mother to be Caucasian with a plain aspect in their features as they also need to cross-dress to portray other genders.  I believe Joseph looks like a clean-cut, white male to exude his “Regan-ite” demeanor with Louise being portrayed by black man of a slim, but muscular stature.  Prior should be more feminine and slight in his body type but ethnicity does not need to be pronounced. Finally, I see the man playing Belize to be of Hispanic descent and should also be thin, attractive and effeminate.

Because of the continuously evolving scenery and safety concerns with the moments of magic in the show, all actors would need to embody a healthy and non-impaired state.  This is, unfortunately, not a show that would allow for any physical or mental handicaps with any potential actors. The faculties of sight, hearing, movement as well as speech is imperative for the proper telling of this story.