'Angels' gives rich exposition of Kushner's words

"ANGELS IN AMERICA: PERESTROIKA," Babcock Theatre, Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, University of Utah, through March 11 (581-7100). Running time: three hours (two intermissions).

When Tony Kushner wrote his two Tony Award-winning plays under the title "Angels In America," he loaded the scripts with poetic dialogue and metaphor and meaning and plain old drama. Larry West — who directs the Babcock Theatre's production of the second play, subtitled "Perestroika" — had a lot to work with.

Along with set designer Thomas George and the other designers and stage managers, West has created a rich interpretation of Kushner's words. Some of the Babcock student actors are amazing, and a couple are, well, student actors. But overall, this production surpasses even the quality we've come to expect at the Babcock.

On opening night, the metaphor that seemed most significant was the one about a snake shedding its skin. If something happens and the skin comes off too soon, then the poor reptile is in peril. He lies open and vulnerable to the chaos of the world.

The play is set in New York City in 1986 as the plague of AIDS begins to sweep the world. Aaron Anderson plays Joe Pitt, a young lawyer who is married and, not incidentally, also a member of the LDS Church. Pitt has left his wife, Harper, to move in with a man named Louis, who has left his own lover because the man is dying of AIDS. Both Louis (Nicholas Byane) and Joe are tortured by their betrayals.

Sarah Shippobotham as Pitt's mother, Kristen Bailey as his wife, and Anita Holland as the angel are especially notable in their roles. Holland is elegant as well as scary, and Bailey is suitably fey.

Shippobotham looks a little like Meryl Streep, who played Mother Pitt in the HBO version of "Angels in America." So the fact that her performance suffers so little in comparison to Streep's makes it all the more amazing.

Aaron Adams as Roy Cohn is also great. He lies dying and unrepentant throughout the play, and Adam's energetic writhing shows us AIDS is an awful way to go.

Two other nice performances were too hard to hear. Thomas Marcus turns in a solid performance as Prior, the abandoned lover. Jonah Taylor is charming as the nurse, Belize, and his words are properly lilting, but we strain to catch them.

There were some other minor problems on opening night. The theater was freezing. One time the lights glared into our eyes. But hey, Prior was blinded when the angel came, so maybe we were meant to empathize.

Kushner wants us to see that not only are individuals in peril, but our world is in peril. We are vulnerable to disease, and to our own destruction of the environment. Our own cruelties will destroy us, he warns. The Babcock production of his warning got a standing ovation on opening night.

Sensitivity rating: The director warns this is not for anyone under 16. Men make out with men. The play features swearing, crude talk and strong sexual themes. The references to the shedding of LDS temple garments are in keeping with the snake metaphor but will still be offensive to many.

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