Part 2 of "Angels in America" comes to Wilma Theater

PHILADELPHIA - August 19, 2012 (WPVI) -- It's the 20th anniversary of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play, "Angels in America."

The Wilma Theater closed out last season with Part 1, "Millennium" and they're opening their new season with part 2, "Perestroika. "

"Millennium" ends with the angel crashing down onto the stage in a dramatic descent from Heaven, sending a message of impending doom to Prior, a gay character with AIDS.

"I'm delivering an anti-migratory epistle and basically charging him with the responsibility to tell mankind that they need to slow down, stop moving or both of our worlds are going to die, collapse," said Maia DeSanti, who plays the angel.

Set in 1985, "Perestroika" picks up from the wreckage and addresses a world in chaos.

"I feel like there are so many themes of this play and I think that's kind of the beauty of it. That's what makes it a classic play of our generation," said Kate Czajkowski, who plays Harper.

It refers to the AIDS epidemic, global warming and what the play's characters believe is God's abandonment of mankind.

"Essentially though I think it's about people who are fighting through devastation, whether it's devastation of the body or the spirit or of the heart," said Czajkowski.

"Angels in America" begins preview performances on Sept. 12 and runs through Oct. 21. If you missed Part 1 in the spring, the cast is staging both parts this fall.

You can go to www.WilmaTheatre.org for scheduling and ticket information.

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