Angels in America: Part I - THTR 200 | The Theatrical Experience | Professor Smith - Collins Memorial Library at University of Puget Sound

The Play

Angels in America by Tony Kushner
Call Number: Print Books (PS3561.U778 A85 1993 )
ISBN: 1559360607
Publication Date: 1993-04-01
Angels in America (HBO production)
Call Number: DVD / Video Collection (PS3561.U778 A85 2004 )
ISBN: 9780783129501

About the Author

Literature Resource Center
Contains articles from academic journals and literary magazines as well as excerpts from scholarly monographs, literary correspondence and diaries.
Literature Criticism
Includes overviews by topic, author, and work, as well as excerpts from articles, books, and essays written by scholars.

Resources for Context

Use these sources to find background information about ideas surrounding the play.

AIDS
Homosexuality
Mormonism
Judaism
Angels
Millennium
Ronald Reagan
Roy Cohn

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Collection of dozens of encyclopedias and other Gale reference works in the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

Suggested articles:

Millennialism

Angels

Mormonism

Judaism

Reaganomics

Roy Cohn

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Homosexuality

SAGE Reference Online

Selection of subject encyclopedias published by Sage; especially strong in the social sciences.

Suggested articles:

Ronald Reagan

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Homosexual Relationships

Oxford Reference

Includes over 100 specialized Oxford dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.

Suggested articles:

Judaism

Mormonism

Reaganomics

CQ Researcher

Full-length articles of contemporary issues include an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, plus resources for additional research.

Suggested articles:

AIDS

Gay rights

AIDS 101 (film clip)

American Decades Primary Sources (1900-1999)

A great resource for an overview of the political, cultural, and social contexts of a decade.

Use the table of contents drop down menu to find a specific decade.

Angels in America Campus Production Guide

For general information about Angels in America as well as information about the 2004 campus production see http://library.pugetsound.edu/angelsinamerica/

Images of the 2004 campus production may be found here.

Production History Research Prompts

Use these questions to guide your research about production history.

What is the production history of this play (where and when was it produced)?
How was it received?
What notable artists have worked on it?
What design, casting, staging or producing choices were made?
Why were those choices successful/unsuccessful in their time/location?
What has contributed to the success/failure of this play in the past?
What aesthetic choices elevated/opened up the piece?
What aesthetic choices collapsed the piece?

Search EBSCO for Production Reviews

Search tip:

Put the play title in quotes and add production, e.g., "Angels in America" and production

Note: To find information about the set, look for the publication Stage Directions

More Databases for Production Reviews

LexisNexis Academic

Full text newspapers from around the world
Use "advanced options" to limit results to theatre reviews.

Research Library
Research Library features the full text of a diversified mix of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines and newspapers covering all academic subject areas.
New York Times
Members of the Puget Sound community may register, with their campus email address, for access to the New York Times web site which provides you with 24 hours of access to NYTimes.com and the NYTimes apps each time you log-on. Once registered, you may log-on to claim a ‘seat’ for 24 hours per session. Up to 108 users may have access at the same time.

The Times Digital Archive
1785-2008

Books

Tony Kushner's Angels in America by Kent Nielsen; Nielsen
Call Number: ebook
ISBN: 9780826495044
Publication Date: 2008-12-09
This guide provides a comprehensive critical introduction to the play, giving students an overview of the background and context; detailed analysis of the play including its structure, style and characters; analysis of key production issues and choices; an overview of the performance history from the first performances of Millennium Approaches and Perestroika to recent productions and the 2003 HBO adaptation; and an annotated guide to further reading highlighting key critical approaches.
Approaching the Millennium by Deborah R. Geis (Editor); Steven F. Kruger (Editor)
Call Number: PS3561.U778 A8532 1997
ISBN: 9780472066230
Publication Date: 1998-01-15
The original essays explore the complexities of the play and situate it in its particular, conflicted historical moment. The contributors help us understand and appreciate the play as a literary work, as theatrical text, as popular cultural phenomenon, and as political reflection and intervention. Specific topics include how the play thematizes gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity; the postmodern incarnation of the Brechtian epic; AIDS and the landscape of American politics.
Tony Kushner in Conversation by Robert Vorlicky (Editor); Tony Kushner
Call Number: PS3561.U778 Z476 1998
ISBN: 9780472066612
Publication Date: 1998-02-01
Tony Kushner in Conversation is the first book to compile Kushner's most significant interviews of the past decade, tracing his career from its early years to his maturing artistic and political visions. The collection includes pieces that first appeared in an amazingly broad range of periodicals as well as interviews not previously published, such as his appearance on PBS on The Charlie Rose Show.