About the Book:

Angels in America was one of Royal National Theatre of Britain's top 100 plays of the 20th century.

An ideal introduction to studying the text in performance and production, including coverage of performance history, staging issues and possibilities and its reception and interpretation by audiences as well as critics.

Angels in America paved a new way for American theatre in its combination of heightened theatricality and politics. Tony Kushner has emerged as one of the American theatre's leading playwrights and productions worldwide have meant that the play has been recognized as the most important American play in decades. With the scope of the characters' sexual, class and religious affiliations in the play, Angels in America offers a unique possibility to discuss the construction of American identity in the late 1980s and 1990s.

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 productions and the HBO adaptation; and an annotated guide to further reading highlighting key critical approaches.

About the Author:

Ken Nielsen is a scholar of theater history, cultural studies, and composition. Having lived, studied, and taught in Denmark, Lithuania, and the USA he has a deep interest and investment in translingual education. He is the author of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.