Play Response Paper: Angels in America: Part 1

1/26/2014

Alycia Duffey

Question 1: During a Valium hallucination Harper and Prior is dreaming, the two dream states combine. They begin to learn things about each other, seemingly telepathically. They call these ideas threshold of revelation. In this meeting Prior has a revelation and is pushed to tell Harper that her husband, Joe, is secretly gay. Harper accepts this revelation quite easily. This is another big piece of information that builds upon the plot. Up until this point, we knew that Harper and Joe had not had a strong relationship. He leaves most nights to go on long walks which she is suspicious about. The story continues on from this revelation as she begins to outright question Joe. Now that the idea is in the air, Joe begins to consciously consider his inner struggle and starts to give in to this idea. Also, this is the first supernatural scene in the play. The audience will be pulled into the state of imagination of the play. Shortly after Roy is told he has AIDS, he is visited by Ethel Rosenberg. Because Roy is a conservative Republican, it is ironic that we are to find out in a conversation with his doctor that he does sleep with men. He is in denial that he has AIDS. But the disease is already taking its toll. When Joe tells Roy that he cannot go to Washington, Roy tries to make him feel weak by confessing to an unethical execution of Ethel Rosenberg earlier on in his career. Knowing all of this information evokes shock when we see Ethel Rosenberg walk on stage to see Roy in a moment of bent over pain. Its irony that she should be with him near the end, as he is primarily responsible for her execution. Prior is visited by the angel in the final scene of Angels in America: Part 1. We know that this moment is coming since Prior had been visited by two of his male ancestors. They warn him that he will be visited. In his hospital bed he shares a secret with Belize that he hears a voice

when he is alone. The audience should believe this to be the person foretold to come, since we hear the voice when Belize leaves the room. When the angel crashes through the ceiling, it is not only an exciting, theatrical moment in the show, but it is the moment we have been waiting for. Question 2: I dont understand why Joes mother did not show up before the end of part one. We know that she was in a dangerous part of town, talking to a person not in their right mind. We know that Joe knows she is coming, yet he did not pick h er up from the airport. We dont know why Joe neglected his mother by not picking her up. Question 3: I somewhat relate to Harper. I would go crazy if I found out that I had married a homosexual. Her drugs are a result of her unhappiness. She should leave Joe, sober or not. Sometimes love is different, and you can love someone in different ways. But this part of the plot is unique. It is not a story told very often.