Angels In America, Tony Kushner’s Two-Part Masterpiece, Kicks Off Actors Theatre’s 2017-18 Season

Photo: Actors Theatre of Louisville

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are excited to announce the cast and creative team for Tony Kushner’s epic, two-part masterpiece, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches and Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, both directed by Associate Artistic Director Meredith McDonough (Airness, Circle Mirror Transformation, Peter and the Starcatcher). Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches will preview on August 29 and 30, open on August 31, and run through October 10. Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika will preview on September 19 and 20, open on September 21, and run through October 14. Both productions will be presented in repertory in the Pamela Brown Auditorium as part of the Brown-Forman Series. Tickets are available at 502.584.1205, online at ActorsTheatre.org, or in person by visiting the Actors Theatre Box Office at 316 West Main Street, Louisville, KY, 40202.

One of the most celebrated plays of the 20^th century, Tony Kushner’s two-part masterpiece carries the audience through an astonishing theatrical landscape, both intimate and epic. In the chaos of the mid-1980s, a web of friends, lovers, and strangers struggle to make sense of the world. The AIDS crisis is escalating. The ozone layer is disappearing. And then a celestial messenger comes crashing through the ceiling—literally. Told with thrilling wit and unflinching honesty, this searing examination of American politics, religion, power, sexuality, and justice is as powerful as ever.

Actors Theatre welcomes a powerhouse cast for this production of Angels in America.  Lou Liberatore (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Awards nominee as part of the 1987 original Broadway cast of Burn This) will be making his Actors Theatre debut as Roy Cohn/Prior 2. Barbara Walsh (Tony, Drama Desk and Drama League Awards nominee and L.A. Ovation Award winner for her role as Trina in the 1992 original Broadway cast for Falsettos; Drama Desk and Drama League Awards nominee for the 2006 revival of Company; Helen Hayes award winner for the 2014 revival of Carrie: The Musical at Studio 2ndstage) will return to Actors Theatre, after last performing in a 1988 production of Tomfoolery, as Rabbi Chemelwitz/Henry/Hannah Pitt/Ethel Rosenberg. Actors Theatre also welcomes back Therese Barbato (Peter and the Starcatcher) as Harper Pitt/Martin Heller and Richard Prioleau (Peter and the Starcatcher, Love’s Labour’s Lost) as Mr. Lies/Belize. Richard Gallagher (Louis Ironson), Mark Junek (Prior Walter/Man in the Park), Rami Margron (Emily/Ella Chapter/The Woman in the South Bronx/The Angel) and Brian Slaten (Joe Pitt) will all be making their Actors Theatre debuts.

Actors Theatre’s production of Angels in America, Parts One & Two will be directed by Actors Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director Meredith McDonough, where she has directed Airness, Circle Mirror Transformation, Peter and the Starcatcher, This Random World, Dot, The Last Five Years, Noises Off, The Whipping Man, brownsville song (b-side for tray) and The Delling Shore. Previously, McDonough was the director of new works at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California, where she directed the world premiere musical Triangle, as well as Upright Grand, Auctioning the Ainsleys, Silent Sky, Now Circa Then, [title of show] and Opus (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards: Best Director and Best Production). Other San Francisco credits include the premiere of Miss Bennett–Christmas at Pemberley and A Steady Rain at Marin Theatre Company, and The Lily’s Revenge and Another Way Home at the Magic Theatre. Regionally, favorites include the U.S. premiere of NSFW, Fair Use (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Eurydice (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Book Club Play (Dallas Theater Center) and the Washington, D.C. premiere of the musical Summer of ’42. In New York City, McDonough has developed work with Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Keen Company and Ars Nova. She was the associate artistic director of The Orchard Project, was the new works director for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and currently serves on the board of Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. McDonough received her B.S. from Northwestern University and her M.F.A. from University of California, San Diego.

The creative team for Angels in America, Parts One & Two include scenic design by William Boles, costume design by Alison Siple, co-lighting design by Isabella Byrd and Paul Toben, sound design by Christian Frederickson and media design by Philip Allgeier.

Learn more about the cast and creative team by visiting ActorsTheatre.org.

Part One: Millennium Approaches will preview August 29 and 30 with an official opening on August 31. Part Two: Perestroika will preview September 19 and 20 with an official opening on September 21. Actors Theatre is committed to providing an accessible theatergoing experience and offers an open captioned performance on September 9 for Part One: Millennium Approaches and September 30 for Part Two: Perestroika. Audio described performances are on September 10 for Part One: Millennium Approaches and October 8 for Part Two: Perestroika. For more information about our facilities and all services offered, visit ActorsTheatre.org. Tickets are on sale to the public priced from $25. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Actors Theatre Box Office at 502.584.1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 502.585.1210.

Both full-length plays will be presented in repertory, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience this extraordinary epic in its entirety on two-show days falling on October 1 and 7, 2017.

 Two portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will hang in the Sara Shallenberger Brown lobby during the entire run of Angels in America, Parts One & Two: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika from August 29, 2017 to October 14, 2017. The Quilt will be viewable on Tuesdays – Fridays from 5 – 10 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 – 10 p.m.

Angels in America, Parts One & Two are made possible in part by production sponsor Brown-Forman, the Kentucky Arts Council and Fund for the Arts.

To reserve tickets to review, to request images or for any other press inquiries, please contact Melissa Hines, Marketing Manager, at 502.584.1265 ext. 3140 or mhines@actorstheatre.org.