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Roy Cohn (1927
- 1986)
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 Angels
in America : A Gay Fantasia on National Themes : Part One :
Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Tony
Kushner's Angels in America is that rare entity: a work for
the stage that is profoundly moving yet very funny, highly
theatrical yet steeped in traditional literary values, and most of
all deeply American in its attitudes and political concerns. In
two full-length plays--Millennium Approaches and Perestroika--Kushner
tells the story of a handful of people trying to make sense of the
world. Prior is a man living with AIDS whose lover Louis has left
him and become involved with Joe, an ex-Mormon and political
conservative whose wife, Harper, is slowly having a nervous
breakdown. These stories are contrasted with that of Roy Cohn (a
fictional re-creation of the infamous American conservative
ideologue who died of AIDS in 1986) and his attempts to remain in
the closet while trying to find some sort of personal salvation in
his beliefs. But
such a summary does not do justice to Kushner's grand plan, which
mixes magical realism with political speeches, high comedy with
painful tragedy, and stitches it all together with a daring sense
of irony and a moral vision that demands respect and attention. On
one level, the play is an indictment of the government led by
Ronald Reagan, from the blatant disregard for the AIDS crisis to
the flagrant political corruption. But beneath the acute sense of
political and moral outrage lies a meditation on what it means to
live and die--of AIDS, or anything else--in a society that cares
less and less about human life and basic decency. The play's
breadth and internal drive is matched by its beautiful writing and
unbridled compassion. Winner of two Tony Awards and the 1991 Pulitzer
Prize for drama, Angels in America is one of the most
outstanding plays of the American theater. --Michael Bronski
 Angels
in America : A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part 2 :
Perestroika by Tony Kushner
At the end of Millennium Approaches, the
Pulitzer Prize-winning first part of Angels in America , an
angel crashes in on AIDS sufferer Prior Walter and declares him a
prophet, which is pretty expressionistic-surrealistic stuff, not
to mention its cliff-hanger value. Perestroika follows on
from that moment not only in its action but in its treatment; for
rather than teetering between realism and fantasy like part 1,
it's wholeheartedly expressionist. The drama is better for this
firmer sense of theatrical style. The archness and pop-cultural
knowingness of the gay characters' dialogue is more tolerable, and
the play's grand point (which Kushner seemed not to be approaching
in Millennium Approaches) is better made in a fantastic
context because it is an abstract argument about fate and human
values. The gist of it is that God has vanished (but not died),
leaving humanity as the only other creative force around, and we
just want more life and love, by golly. Kinda thin gruel, but
preceded by so many theatrical pyrotechnics that second helpings
of many of the awards Millennium Approaches got are
entirely to be expected. Ray Olson From
Booklist
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Excerpt:
Roy is the kinda guy who makes you want to hide
your eyes and hang your head, and mumble "Ohmigawd, say it
isn't so. He can't have been gay." Well kiddies, he
was...
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From GayGate.com
Excerpt:
Roy Marcus Cohn was born on February 20, 1927 in
New York City. His father was a justice in the appellate division
of the New York State Supreme Court, and extremely influential
within the ranks of the Democratic Party, . Cohn was a precocious
child, attending the Fieldstone School and Columbia College. At
the age of 20 he graduated from Columbia Law school--too young to
take the bar exam. After being admitted to the bar the next year,
he used his connections to get on the staff of the United States
Attorney in Manhattan. There he quickly made a reputation for
himself, coming to widespread public attention during the
controversial spy trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg when his
direct and unrelenting examination of Mrs. Rosenberg's brother led
him to name his sister as a member of a Soviet spy ring. Chiefly
on the basis of the testimony Cohn elicited, the couple were
convicted and, despite widespread concern about the fairness of
the trial, electrocuted...
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