Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
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Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika Questions
Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Do you think Joe Pitt got what he deserved in the end, or did Kushner treat him to harshly?
- How do you feel about the play's message about progress?
- Why do you think Hannah and Joe don't get along, while Prior and Hannah seem to really hit it off?
- How did you feel about Kushner's depiction of angels in the play? Did it surprise you? Offend you?
- Read another of Tony Kushner's plays, like A Bright Room Called Day, Homebody/Kabul, or Caroline, Or Change. Compare and contrast it to Angels in America. How do the plays compare in theme? Style? Characters?
- What is the effect of the cross-gender casting that the play calls for? For example, the rabbi at the beginning of the play is meant to be played by Hannah, and Henry, Roy's ally, is meant to be played by Harper. How does this casting affect these scenes and the overall meaning of the play?
- Tony Kushner is known to be an admirer of Bertolt Brecht, the German playwright who popularized the style of theater known as epic. Research the work of Brecht and compare and contrast his work to Kushner's.
- Research the real Roy Cohn. Compare and contrast the historical person with Kushner's fictionalized version.