Angels, Part One, Once More!

Hailed as one of Lincoln's finest theatrical experiences of 2011, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches returns for one day, March 18, to the Haymarket Theatre, 803 “Q” Street, at 2:00 p.m. This staged reading will feature actors from the 2011 cast as they prepare for Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, which opens later this month.

The Flatwater Shakespeare Company and The Haymarket Theatre are proud to collaborate on the presentation of both parts of this Pulitzer Prize winning play, which examines 1980s America – and makes prophetic observations about the current state of the nation – with warm humor, savage wit, soaring imagination, heartbreak, and hope. The staged reading is presented free of charge. For information, call 402-477-2600.

Part One focuses on three relationships: Louis and Prior, who have just learned that Prior has AIDS; Harper and her husband Joe, a Mormon couple living in New York City who take separate refuge in pills and the closet; Joe and his would-be mentor, Roy Cohn – the powerful lawyer whose historic career was aligned with Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. Their lives are uprooted by illness, drug dependency, religious doctrine, and political ambition – all explored with great flair, honesty, and humanity.

Director Bob Hall has gathered together an ensemble equal to the task of bringing these memorable characters to the stage. Nathan Weiss and Andy Dillehay are compelling as Louis and Prior. Summer Widhalm and Matt Lukasiewicz heartbreakingly play Harper and Joe. Richard Nielsen is ferocious as Kushner’s fictionalized, but true-to-life version of Roy Cohn. Daniel Kubert shines as Belize, the nurse who cares for Prior both physically and emotionally. Other performers include Flatwater Shakespeare associates Tom Bolin, Mary Douglass, Elizabeth Govaerts, and Dustin Witte.

Support for Angels in America has been generously provided by the Cooper Foundation and the Lincoln Arts Council.

For more information, please visit flatwatershakespeare.org and haymarkettheatre.org.

Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches

A Staged Reading

March 18, 2 p.m

The Haymarket Theatre, 803 “Q” Street, Lincoln

Information: 402-477-2600

Photo: Matt Lukasiewicz as Joe and Richard Nielsen as Roy Cohn in the Flatwater Shakespeare Company and Haymarket Theatre production of Angels in America.

Photo Credit: John Nollendorfs.