The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America

As good as Angels in America is, does it need an oral history? I say yes. This book covers the play from the earliest workshops to productions that were still running in 2018, and ends with Kushner questioning the truth of the book's title while avowing the need to always keep up the fight. It makes me want to see the play again.

An oral history of the epic play Angels in America. The book traces the history of the play through conversations with individuals involved in it, some of them from the beginning, some coming in much later. The stories ranged from personal tragedies to amusing anecdotes about trying to stage a complicated play and the reactions to a play based around a world inhabited chiefly by gays and Mormons (and gay Mormons). The directors, actors, producers, and writers who worked on the show have a variety of opinions and experiences, and hearing their interactions with this work was intriguing. I did find it a bit slow going at first; it took me a while to warm to it, which is a risk when it is a 400 page book. It may seem easier to set it aside show more and move on than to keep going and hope it captures you soon. I pressed on. I was not sorry. show less

I haven't read or seen the play[s]; this book does make me want to see the play. My lack of familiarity with Angels might account for my lukewarm response to this book.