Opening on August 6 at LG Arts Center Seoul
Set in 1980s New York... Addressing Social Minorities
Actors Yoo Seung-ho, Go Jun-hee, and Jung Hye-in will make their theater debut with the play Angels in America, which opens on August 6 at the LG Arts Center Seoul, Signature Hall. Actress Lee Hyo-jung will also appear on the Angels in America stage alongside her son Lee Yoo-jin.
Angels in America is a work by American playwright Tony Kushner, consisting of Part 1, Millennium Approaches, and Part 2, Perestroika. The combined running time of both parts is a lengthy 8 hours. Part 1 premiered in 1991 in San Francisco, USA, and Part 2 was performed the following year. It made its Broadway debut in 1993, sweeping the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Awards, and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Play.
Angels in America is set in 1980s America and deals with the discrimination and confusion experienced by social minorities. The story of five minorities with diverse identities unfolds, shifting between reality and fantasy. Set in New York, it explores various social issues such as religion, race, orientation, and politics through the stories of Prior, an AIDS patient, and his gay lover Louis; Joseph, a Mormon man struggling with his sexual identity, and his drug-addicted wife Harper; and Roy, a notorious right-wing conservative lawyer obsessed with power. It also reflects the social turmoil at the turn of the millennium.
Yoo Seung-ho plays Prior Walter, a white WASP gay man and AIDS patient. Go Jun-hee and Jung Hye-in both portray Harper Pitt, the drug-addicted wife of Joseph Pitt. Go Jun-hee returns to acting after a long hiatus since the 2019 drama Possessed.
Lee Hyo-jung takes on the role of Roy Cohn, a devil's advocate and influential conservative political figure based on a real person, alongside Kim Ju-ho. Lee Hyo-jung’s son, Lee Yoo-jin, plays Joseph Pitt, a Mormon and chief clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Actor Yang Ji-won, who is also active in Daehangno alongside Lee Yoo-jin, will also play Joseph Pitt.
The role of Louis Ironson, Prior Walter’s lover and a Jewish clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is played by Lee Tae-bin, known for dramas such as Penthouse and Romanticist Zone, and Jung Kyung-hoon, who has appeared in musicals like Anne and Oz and plays in the theater productions Namsan Tower Cherry Blossoms Fall in April and Risk.
The role of Hannah Pitt, Joseph Pitt’s mother, is cast with Jeon Guk-hyang, who is active on both television and theater stages, and Bang Ju-ran, known for plays such as Bill Me and Makeup Room.
The role of Belize, a mixed-race former drag queen and current nurse, is played by Tae Hang-ho and Min Jin-woong.
The role of the Angel, who descends from heaven to deliver prophecies to Prior, is played by actress Kwon Eun-hye, known for the plays Scapin and Alice in Bed.
The production is directed by Shin Yoo-chung, who has presented detailed and profound works through plays such as Wife, Scorched Love, and There Is a Lot of Poop in Nokcheon.
The play’s translation is by translator Hwang Seok-hee.
Tickets for Angels in America will be available for reservation from July 2 at the LG Arts Center and Interpark.
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