Belize (played by Mark M. Cryer) attempts to restrain Roy Cohn (David B. Heuvelman) during a climactic hospital scene in Angels in America Part II: Perestroika Robert Barker/University Photography
The Center for Theatre Arts concludes the fall semester with poignancy and humor as it presents Perestroika, the second and final installment of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, Angels in America. A riveting look at the effect of disease on love and relationships, Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika provides insight into the travails and triumphs that resonate from the impact of AIDS. Perestroika opens this evening and closes Dec. 7.
CTA's presentation of Perestroika not only marks its regional debut but also represents a landmark collaboration between the center and the Hangar Theatre to present Kushner's two-part epic in its entirety. The Hangar Theatre produced Part One: Millennium Approaches this past summer, introducing the characters who continue to struggle towards a new community, in spite of and because of AIDS. Part Two: Perestroika is, however, a self-sustained piece of theater that can be appreciated without having seen part one.
Subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," Kushner's Angels in America has been described by Jack Kroll of Newsweek as "daring and dazzling. The most ambitious American play of our time: an epic that ranges from earth to heaven; focuses on politics, sex and religion; transports us to Washington, the Kremlin, the South Bronx, Salt Lake City and Antarctica; deals with Jews, Mormons, WASPs, blacks; switches between realism and fantasy, from the tragedy of AIDS to the camp comedy of drag queens to the death or at least the absconding of God."
While a pervasive and dominating force, disease is not the focus of Perestroika ,director David Feldshuh explained. "The play is about relationships," he said. "Disease is the obstacle to those relationships. It tears at them and, in some cases, destroys them."
Despite the devastating effect of AIDS on individuals, families and relationships, Feldshuh noted that "Perestroika is not an epitaph for those who have died, but rather a proclamation that, in spite of this plague, people will survive. It is a celebration loudly calling for 'more life.'"
As director and the artistic director of the CTA, Feldshuh brings a unique point of view to the production, as he earned first a Ph.D. in theater and then an M.D. from the University of Minnesota. He worked his way through medical school by directing plays and teaching acting, and still practices his specialty, emergency medicine.
His play Miss Evers' Boys has been produced at major theaters throughout the United States, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in drama and currently is being filmed for television. Feldshuh is consulting on this new production about the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, scheduled to air on HBO in February 1997, starring Laurence Fishburne and Alfre Woodard. In addition to directing such plays as Perestroika, Measure for Measure and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Feldshuh's most recent creative endeavor is a short story that appears in the newly published book Emergency Room, a collection of works by physician-writers.
The cast for Perestroika features Cornell students as well as resident professional teaching associates. Among the professionals are Mark M. Cryer (Belize), David B. Heuvelman (Roy M. Cohn), Trish Jenkins (Angel/Mormon Mother) and Lou Markert (Prior Walter).
Starring Cornell students are Maria Dizzia (Harper Pitt), Kevin-William Hughes (Mr. Lies), Matthew Joslyn (Joseph Pitt), Laura Napoli (Ethel Rosenberg), Kelly Newman (Emily), Ben Thorn (Prelapsarinov), Jon Walker (Henry), Melynee Weber (Hannah Pitt) and Justin Yorio (Louis Ironson).
The play opens tonight at 8 p.m. in the Proscenium Theatre. Evening performances continue Friday through Sunday, Nov. 22 through 24, and Wednesday through Saturday, Dec. 4 through 7, at 8 p.m. A matinee will be presented Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m., followed by a discussion session with cast members, Feldshuh, Assistant Director Sarah Stern, Associate Professor of History Michael Steinberg and representatives from Gannett Health Center and AIDSWork Inc. of Tompkins County. The "Talk-Back" session is free and open to the public.
Tickets are $8, $6 for students and seniors, and are available at the CTA box office at 430 College Ave. For tickets, call 254-ARTS between 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or one hour before performances.