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

Locations
Call Number: 812.54 Bu
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	812.54 Bu	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Act 1: 1978-1990. Bad news : The Reagan Revolution and the end of the world ; The great work begins : New York and San Francisco, 1980-1987 ; I like your cosmology, baby : AIDS, Roy Cohn, and Mormons ; Not-yet-conscious, forward dawning : developing the play in San Francisco and Los Angeles, 1987-1990 -- Act 2: 1991-1992. Heaven is a city much like San Francisco : Eureka Theatre Company, 1991 ; Interlude: Hannah Pitt ; Threshold of revelation : Royal National Theatre, London, 1992 ; Interlude: Roy Cohn ; Prepare the way : The Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1992 ; Interlude: Joe Pitt ; When I open my eyes, you'll be gone : getting fired from Angels in America -- Act 3: 1993-1994. Heaven ... : Millennium Approaches on Broadway, 1993 ; ... I'm in Heaven : Perestroika on Broadway and at the Royal National Theatre, London, 1993-1994 ; Interlude: Louis Ironson -- Act 4: 1994-2003. I'll show you America : the national tour, 1994-1995 ; Interlude: The angel ; It's a promised land, but what a disappointing promise : Angels and the culture wars ; Interlude: Belize ; Very Steven Spielberg : the Angels film, 1991-2003 -- Act 5: 1998-2018. It's what living things do : Angels transformed ; Interlude: Harper Pitt ; More life : Royal National Theatre, London, 2017 ; Interlude: Prior Walter ; The world only spins forward : the legacy of Angels.
The oral history of Angels in America. Now, on the 25th anniversary of that Broadway premiere, Isaac Butler and Dan Kois offer the definitive account of Angels in America, expanded from a popular Slate cover story, is both a rollicking theater saga and an uplifting testament to one of the great works of American art of the past century, from its gritty San Francisco premiere to its starry, much-anticipated Broadway revival in 2018.
"The oral history of Angels in America, as told by the artists who created it and the audiences forever changed by it--a moving account of the AIDS era, essential queer history, and an exuberant backstage tale. When Tony Kushner's Angels in America hit Broadway in 1993, it won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the Tonys, launched a score of major careers, and changed the way gay lives were represented in popular culture. Mike Nichols's 2003 HBO adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, and Mary-Louise Parker was itself a tour de force, winning Golden Globes and eleven Emmys, and introducing the play to an even wider public. This generation-defining classic continues to shock, move, and inspire viewers worldwide. Now, on the 25th anniversary of that Broadway premiere, Isaac Butler and Dan Kois offer the definitive account of Angels in America in the most fitting way possible: through oral history, the vibrant conversation and debate of actors (including Streep, Parker, Nathan Lane, and Jeffrey Wright), directors, producers, crew, and Kushner himself. Their intimate storytelling reveals the on- and offstage turmoil of the play's birth--a hard-won miracle beset by artistic roadblocks, technical disasters, and disputes both legal and creative. And historians and critics help to situate the play in the arc of American culture, from the staunch activism of the AIDS crisis through civil rights triumphs to our current era, whose politics are a dark echo of the Reagan '80s. Expanded from a popular Slate cover story and built from nearly 250 interviews, The World Only Spins Forward is both a rollicking theater saga and an uplifting testament to one of the great works of American art of the past century, from its gritty San Francisco premiere to its starry, much-anticipated Broadway revival in 2018"--Jacket.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Super interesting submitted by Jinxyluis on August 21, 2019, 11:49am The World Only Spins Forward is brilliantly structured, walking through the creation and chronologizing the production history of Angels in America, and spliced through with interludes which dive deep on each of the characters in the cast. The oral history style means that the book is made up entirely of quotes from the over 200 people who were interviewed in the course of creating this narrative. Oftentimes the writing flows as if all the quoted individuals are in a room together having a big conversation and relating their story together, although from what I understand the interviews were mostly if not entirely one on one. I can’t even imagine how much work went into parsing out from hundreds of interviews a single coherent arc made up of the thoughts of so many disparate individuals. It is really quite impressive. ⁣⁣
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Personally, I found I didn’t always maintain a great sense of who was talking. The quoted speakers are introduced with their full name and association with the play, but in subsequent quotes are introduced with only their last name. I generally immediately forgot who someone was unless they were a very important often repeated figure, which is not the fault of the writers. One thing I didn’t like was a number of times a shorter segment was inserted that ran along the bottom of many pages, I wish those had been after the chapters in which they appeared instead of requiring the reader to choose when to skip down and skip back up to read the side by side narratives. Those sections were some of my favorites however, touching on themes such as how Angels in America was part of people’s coming out processes, production history in schools, and how the play shaped the next generation of writers and directors. I was also a huge fan of the interlude sections which went in depth on each of the characters and featured discussions from most or all of the actors who played that part throughout its production history. Like Angels itself, this book is sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, a gorgeous piece of work I'm so glad to have experienced.