Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" Comes Back to Broadway but It's Impact Plummets

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner (b Amer 1956) floats amongst the top echelon of contemporary playwrights, authors & screen writers.  Other honors include 2 Tonys, an Olivier Award, & 2 Oscar nominations ("Lincoln" directed by Steven Spielberg) & an Emmy for "Angels in America"directed by Mike Nichols ('03).  In 2012, Kushner was awarded a Nat'l Medal of Arts by Pres. Obama.  Kushner in the eyes of those who admire & glorify his enormous talents shroud him with praise of an infallible Icarus.  Alas, this highly anticipated theatrical revival falls from grace despite the talents of Andrew Garfield & Nathan Lane (whose comic delivery of Roy Cohen was damaging.)  Even with the ebullient presence of Mr. Kushner seated amongst the audience & graciously taking selfies, "Angels in America" limped along on fractured wings.  This play doesn't hold a candle in comparison to Nichol's TV production.   Blame is doled to the accomplices with paltry acting and faulty staging.  Nathan Lane as Roy Cohen was guilty of impersonating himself playing strictly within his comic lane which was too narrow a portrayal for the hypocritical & sinister emotional center of "Angels".  Garfield as Prior Walter, dying of AIDS and abandoned by his fickle lover Louis (a fine James McArdle) was poignant & stirring in his role.  Alas, the rest of the cast, except for a superb Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) as the bumptious nurse to Roy Cohen fade into the background.  Stewart-Jarrett also played the role of Mr. Lies but the role was flimsy and added to the flotsam & jetsam that laden this American Gothic.  Kushner's brilliant writing glimmered throughout and his ambitious breadth of blending historical events, cultural & religious conflicts & conundrums was admirable.  Unfortunately, the script was fractured by too many fleeting distractions including a frenetic set and dismal choreographing; especially disappointing in the Angel's aberrational transformation.  For both the Angel Shadows & the audio/animatronics with black clad costuming looked cheap.  "Angels in America" strives for a purposeful & powerful storytelling of America's factual Lucifer figures & a most shameful epoch.  Hopefully, our nation has moved forward in tolerance, acceptance and justice.  But, it's naive to believe this the case.  "Angels in America" has soared before to the heavens as Icarus flew towards the sun.  Perhaps, Mr. Kushner is not done with revising this production which soars & then melts into a bore.  Prior productions have been magnificent.  One can aspire for "Angels in America" now in previews to open & soar like a Phoenix.