ANGELS IN AMERICA Thoughts -- Student Alexander Cavaluzzo

We continue our series of posts featuring people's thoughts on the power and impact of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. Click here and continue checking back for more words from Broadway cast members, our current cast and creative team, Signature’s past Playwrights-in-Residence, and others in the theatre community. We also want to hear from YOU -- click here to find out how you can contribute.



"I first read Angels in America in 2005 when I was sixteen. At the time, I was a junior at a Catholic high school that has amongst its notable alumni the incendiary Fox News correspondent Bill O'Reilly. Obviously, as a queer Marxist, I was not in my element. Day in and day out I was immersed in reactionary, fundamentalist thought that I highly opposed. One day, in Barnes and Noble, I was in search for something that would counter the drivel I was hearing at school; I was familiar with Tony Kushner's work only through commercials for the 2003 mini-series, but I was aware it was a play that dealt with, among many other things, queer issues.

When I bought the last copy in the store, I read it in about a day. Words cannot describe the joy I felt. I cannot count how many times I've read and re-read the play, nor how many times I've watched and re-watched the mini-series. I've read extensive criticism of the play, purchased two playbills from the original Broadway production, watched a recording of the Broadway production of Millennium Approaches & Perestroika at the Lincoln Center Library, and, last year I got Milton Glaser's logo for the play tattooed on my right wrist (photo above).

I've have been desperately waiting my chance to see a live production of this fabulous piece of epic drama, and thanks to the Signature Theatre Company, I'll have that chance this fall."
-Alexander Cavaluzzo

Alexander Cavaluzzo is a 21-year old student and writing tutor