Identity In Angels In America

915 Words2 Pages

Frankie Camera

World Theater

3/31/14

Angels in America

Discovering one’s identity is part of life. An identity is unique in that it is what sets us apart, yet can bring us together. Throughout Angels in America the characters were searching for their identity, which I will express to be the “spine”. Every character had faced some method of change during the play. These elements helped us define the theme of the play.

During Harper’s life in which she suffered from Valium, her search remained clear. We know her to be very high strung because of her husband Joe’s lack of engagement towards their marriage. She feared that she may lose stability in her life and would not be able to seek a more fulfilled life. Unfortunately Joe and Harper’s relationship did not succeed. Throughout her fantasy’s with Mr. Lies, I felt it symbolized her marriage changing and ending because all these dreams came to an end and so did their marriage. Her search for identity would fluster when she finally decided leave their Brooklyn home. Her plane ride to San Francisco symbolized a new beginning and a new identity for her. I would like to see Harper’s clothing change between these scenes. She should be wearing something more energetic and free vs. something plan and calm. I visualized this specific part of the play as one foundation for the “spine”. In that, she had ended the play as a more confident woman and essentially a new “identity”.

Her husband Joe’s search for identity was different from his wife’s. He started of the play with a strong will towards certain perspectives. We eventually learned that Joe was struggling to find his inner self. He was torn between a marriage with Harper and a secret relationship with Louis. His d...

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...th the Angels.
Overall as the director, I would have liked to seen a great emphasis through dream scenery. Throughout this whole play, I thought of it has a large dream and everything was happening for a specific reason. I would also like to have seen the costumes represent the characters portrayals. Angel outfits, wings, political attire for men, a nurse outfit for Belize, and some shabby clothing for the women. Identity had given Angels in America the ability to reach the viewer. It supported the production and made things easier to envision and more realistic to our society. Many of the characters had differences that set them apart just like our society, but on the other hand those differences just like the “spine” were the backbone of their culture.
Work Cited Page
Kushner, Tony. Millennium Approaches. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2005. Print.

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