The Heights Players are taking the unprecedented
step this season of presenting a double bill: both parts of Tony
Kushner’s multi-award-winning "Angels in America."
"Millennium Approaches" will run Jan. 7, 8, 13 and
14, at 8 pm, and Jan 9, at 2 pm. "Perestroika" will
run Jan. 15, 21 and 22, at 8 pm, and Jan 16 and 23, at 2 pm.
Robert Weinstein, who directs the show, told GO Brooklyn he
was happy to accept the challenge.
"My passion is to do theater," he said. "The
size of this project creates a bigger challenge, which I welcome
more and more."
Calling Kushner’s epic "one
of the greatest plays ever written in the modern era," Weinstein
went on to explain that he "couldn’t honestly imagine telling
only half of the story I wouldn’t be doing the playwright justice."
Considered a turning point in gay drama, "Angels in America"
presents more than 30 characters in eight acts. But the basic
story is about two couples whose relationships are disintegrating.
Their stories are told amid the turmoil of the 1980s, when AIDS
was first revealing itself.
"It’s a story of unparalleled beauty, drama, sadness and
hope," said Weinstein, who also believes it is "as
important a play today as when it came out in 1993."
"Not much has changed in our world in its political and
social climate," he explained. "All the same narrow-mindedness
and bigotry are still prevalent in America. All the issues the
play covers are still at crisis levels."
The Heights Players Theater is located at 26 Willow Place at
State Street in Brooklyn Heights. Tickets for each show are $12,
$10 seniors and students. For reservations, call (718) 237-2752.
Paulanne Simmons
