"All Hot for Truth": The Jewish Roots and Vision of Tony Kushner's “Angels in America” (Part 1)

Since its thunderous arrival on Broadway in 1993, Tony Kushner’s seven-hour epic Angels in America has received worldwide acclaim for its progressive political vision and loving-but-conflicted portrait of Jewish-American ethnic identity. This three-part class will focus on a less-discussed but equally central element of the play: Kushner’s persistent usage of Jewish religious imagery – a flaming Hebrew “Book of Life” revelation, an Angel who speaks of God’s “hidden face” and Kabbalistic attributes, characters who long to “mend” the broken shards of creation, to name a few – to structure its action and meaning. As we delve together into scenes (and watch famous clips of them in performance) where such concepts are on display, students will be invited to see Angels as a work of surprising theological heft and Kushner himself as a formidable spiritual thinker.

In the first session, we’ll learn about Kushner’s Jewish upbringing in Lake Charles, LA and see how questions of faith and doubt have trailed him into adulthood. We’ll also examine two key scenes - Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz’s opening monologue and Louis’s pleading “confession” to him in Act I, Scene 5 – seeking to understand: Why did Kushner place an aged rabbi at the heart of a play about the 1980s Reagan-era AIDS epidemic? Why is the Jewishly-alienated Louis so fixated on what God and “the Holy Writ” would think of his abandoning Prior? And how does the Rabbi’s failure to provide any theological reassurance compound both Louis’s crisis and Kushner’s sense of America’s unraveling?

Shana Komitee is a faculty member in Juilliard's Drama Division, where she teaches theater history, play analysis, and dramaturgy, and serves as dramaturg. A former New York City Urban Fellow, Komitee has also taught at Columbia University, Bard Prison Initiative, and Juilliard Extension. She received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and pursued an interdisciplinary doctorate at Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Performance Studies. While at Harvard, she was a four-time recipient of the university’s top teaching fellowship prize, and taught in multiple Boston-based adult education settings. She is the author of the Harvard Writing Project’s A Student’s Guide to Performance Studies, multiple Juilliard Global Ventures’ Angels in America episodes, and dozens of theatrical program notes and director interviews for Juilliard mainstage productions. She provides dramaturgy at theaters throughout the United States, including most recently Williamstown Theatre Festival, WP Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre, and the American Repertory Theatre.

Who are these classes for?

Our classes are for everyone—whether you’re brand new to the topic or have been engaging with it for years, we encourage participation from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experience levels. Unless otherwise noted, no prior knowledge or experience is needed. Not sure if a class is for you? Email us at Learning@Lehr.haus!

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Our tickets utilize a Pay-What-You-Can model so attendees can pay a range of prices based on what they are able to pay to allow for greater accessibility. Please select the price point that feels right for you.

Can I eat during class?

While we do not serve food in the study, you are welcome to order and enjoy drinks during class and join us for a meal before or after class. We highly recommend making a reservation if you know you'll be dining with us. Visit www.lehr.haus/reservation to check availability and book a table.