Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

The following day, Prior and Belize whisper conspiratorially outside of Joe’s office, where Joe forlornly cradles his head in his hands. Belize is anxious, but Prior is not. He goes inside and says, “Oh. […] You look just like the dummy. She’s right” (223). At Joe’s confusion, Prior clarifies that he means Joe’s wife. Then Prior denies that he said this, proclaiming that he is a prophet. Prior asks what Joe does, and Joe says that he is a law clerk. Unimpressed with what he sees as a job filing papers, Prior retorts that Joe had better keep files on the hearts he breaks. Then Prior says, “Sorry wrong room” (223) and exits, leaving Joe baffled. Prior describes Joe to Belize as the “Marlboro Man” (223), and Belize, curious, goes to look. Belize and Joe recognize each other from the hospital, but Belize insists that Joe is wrong, and that he isn’t a nurse. Prior and Belize start to run away, but Joe catches them, demanding to know what they know about his wife. Belize hides his face with a scarf, and Prior makes rambling excuses for his presence in the courthouse, finally yelling at Joe to talk to his wife himself. Prior sticks his tongue out at Joe and races off. Before following, Belize drops the scarf and remarks, “I am trapped in a world of white people. That’s my problem” (225).

A day later, a winter storm is approaching, and Louis is sitting on the edge of the Bethesda fountain in Central Park. Belize enters and comments on the angel at the top of the fountain, which Louis hadn’t noticed, although Louis does know that the fountain was commissioned to commemorate those who died at sea in the Civil War. Belize tells Louis that Prior is angry and hurt, and that they went to the courthouse to check Joe out. This invasion of privacy upsets Louis, but Belize is unconcerned, berating him for having sex with “Roy Cohn’s buttboy” (226). Louis is horrified at the accusation, asserting that Joe is a little conservative, but he is a good person. Louis demands to know how Belize could know anything about Joe and Roy. Belize counters, “I don’t know whether Mr. Cohn has penetrated more than his spiritual sphincter” (227), adding that Louis had better pray that there is no GOP germ.

Louis exclaims that Roy is so evil that he isn’t human, and that of all of the terrible things he has done, he isn’t terrible enough to have sex with someone who is in bed with Roy Cohn. Belize replies, “Buttboy” (227). Belize reproaches Louis for knowing nothing about Joe, which Louis admits. Furthermore, Belize stresses hotly that he has never been in love with Prior, and that he has had a partner even longer than he has known Louis. He accuses Louis of being too preoccupied with lofty ideas like his love for the idea of America. Belize says that he hates America, and that he sees the word “free” in the national anthem, sung on a difficult high note, as a metaphor for unattainable freedom in the country. Sharply, Belize asserts that Louis can love America if he wants, because “Everybody’s got to love something,” to which Louis replies, “Everybody does” (228).

On the same day, Hannah is at the Mormon Visitor’s Center. Joe enters, and he and his mother regard each other for a moment. Joe asks about Harper, and Hannah gives vague answers. Hannah admonishes Joe for refusing to return her calls so she and Harper would have at least known that he was safe. Joe announces that he is taking Harper home, and Hannah questions whether that decision is wise. Joe pleads with his mother for some sympathy as he tries to fix his mistakes, but Hannah cannot bring herself to feel any. Harper isn’t at the Visitor’s Center, and Joe says that she isn’t at the apartment, so Hannah says that she must have escaped, musing, “Good for her” (230).

Joe asks if Hannah is crying, and she spits back that if she ever cries, he won’t be there to witness it. Joe wishes that he hadn’t called Hannah in the first place and doesn’t understand why she came out to New York. He leaves as Prior enters. Prior tells Hannah that the man who just left was her son. Hannah asks if he knows Joe, and Prior explains that Joe knows his ex-boyfriend, and Prior wants to warn him that Louis cannot handle it when bodies break down. Hannah questions whether Prior is gay and whether he is a typical gay man, and Prior quips that he is stereotypical. Then Prior starts to feel ill. He asks Hannah to feel his forehead. She hesitates and then does, confirming that he has a fever. Prior sinks to the floor, noting that he’s pushed himself too hard and needs a cab to the hospital. Hannah helps Prior to his feet and explains, “I’m useless here” (232). Prior tells Hannah that this is not a good time if she’s going to attempt to convert him. Hannah points out that it’s about to rain, so they’d better go.

Later the same day, Harper stands on the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, underdressed and shoeless in the freezing wind. Joe enters. They look at each other for a moment. Harper says hello, indicating that the storm clouds set the mood for the end of the world. Joe asks about her shoes, which she threw in the river. Harper describes Judgment Day, when everyone will hallucinate, seeing angels and living mannequins. Joe tells her that he wants to take her home, and Harper asks, “Where’s that?” (233). Harper explains that a flood is not effective enough for an apocalypse, but that fire should work. She agrees to go home.

At the hospital, Emily the nurse (played by the Angel) examines Prior while Hannah sits nearby. Emily scolds Prior for losing weight and not taking care of himself when he was doing so well, even though Prior argues that the problem is his lungs. Prior introduces Hannah as his “ex-lover’s lover’s Mormon mother.” Emily replies, “Even in New York in the eighties, that is strange” (234). Hannah starts to leave, but Prior insists that he is not experiencing symptoms of mental illness, even though he saw an angel. Hannah suggests that he had a vision. Wryly, Prior tells her not to pity him, but Hannah states that she isn’t someone who has pity. She explains that John Smith, the Mormon prophet, had visions: “His desire made prayer. His prayer made an angel. The angel was real. I believe that” (235). Prior replies that he hates a lot of what she believes, particularly about gay people, and Hannah asserts that he should stop making assumptions about her. She adds that her son is gay, although Prior has to say the word for her. She realized that she’s most bothered by the image of two men together—something she deems unsightly, though she admits that she feels that way about all men.

Prior asks what God does to prophets in the Bible who refuse to obey the visions they’re sent. Hannah answers, “He… Well, he feeds them to whales” (236). Prior moans that he knows what happens next because he’s experienced it. He will get sick and delirious, and he dreads doing it again. Prior claims that he is inhuman, pulling up his shirt to show Hannah his lesions. Hannah, unperturbed, says that it is just cancer, which is very human. Hannah tells him, “An angel is just a belief, with wings and arms that can carry you. It’s naught to be afraid of. If it lets you down, reject it” (237). Thunder rumbles, and Prior says that the Angel is approaching. He begs Hannah to stay with him, as her presence is comforting, and she makes him feel tougher. Hannah relents, “I’m not needed elsewhere” (237) and agrees to watch him sleep. Prior doesn’t want to say that the Angel’s voice gives him an erection, but he tells Hannah that he has a foolproof way to know when she is near.

Harper and Joe are in bed. Harper asks why Joe closes his eyes during sex. Joe denies that he does, but Harper states that he is fantasizing about men, and Joe agrees. Looking away, Joe gets up and starts to get dressed, telling Harper vaguely that he needs to go and pick up some of his things. Harper tells Joe to look at her, pressing until he does. She asks him what he sees, and Joe, frustrated, says, “Nothing” (239). After a moment, Harper thanks him for finally telling her the truth. Joe repeats that he is going out and exits. Harper says, “It sets you free. Goodbye” (239)

Later the same night, Joe finds Louis in his apartment, reading from a stack of papers. Louis, quoting a line from the Army-Joseph McCarthy hearings targeted at McCarthy, “Have you no decency, sir? At long last? Have you no sense of decency? Who said that?” Cohn represented McCarthy in those hearings and in other legal matters. Joe doesn’t understand what Louis is asking. Louis asks the same question, then tells the confused Joe that he spent the afternoon reading the trial decisions that Joe has written on behalf of the judge he clerks for. Joe tries to change the conversation, but Louis cites cases in which Joe used legal maneuvering to cheat women and children or to uphold anti-gay bias in the law. Condescendingly, Joe dismisses having his legal work critiqued by “the guy who changes the coffee filters” (241).

Louis questions again whether Joe knows who he was quoting, and Joe, frustrated, exclaims that he doesn’t, but he loves Louis. Louis replies that he was quoting a line from the McCarthy hearings, which Joe’s friend Roy would certainly have known. Louis asks if Joe had sex with Roy, and Joe becomes offended, trying to push Louis out of the way. Louis throws the papers at him and announces that Roy is dying of AIDS, and that he is just another “closeted bigot” (243). Joe punches Louis, who insults him again. Joe loses control, hitting Louis over and over. Joe stops, begging Louis to say he’s all right and swearing that he’s never hit anyone before. Joe tries to apologize and help him tend to his bleeding face, but Louis pushes him off, stating that he could have Joe arrested. Everyone would assume that Joe went to jail for violence, but Louis would really be sending him away for his legal decisions. Joe apologizes more, but Louis tells him to get out.

That night, Roy is hooked up to more monitors, machines, and IVs. Ethel enters, as Roy sings “John Brown’s Body” to himself. Ethel comments that Roy is smiling, and Roy states cheerfully that he’s about to die, and the disbarment committee didn’t have time to finish their proceedings. Therefore, he will die a lawyer. Ethel replies that he shouldn’t get ahead of himself. The panel had recommended him for disbarment, and the Executive committee was waiting to approve it quickly. Ethel adds that one of the prominent members of the Executive committee said to another, “Finally. I’ve hated that little f****t for thirty-six years” (245). Ethel tells Roy that she came to the hospital to finally forgive him, but all she can do is enjoy his suffering. She spits, “You never won. And when you die all anyone will say is: Better he had not lived at all” (246). Suddenly, Roy calls out to his mother and begs her to sing to him. Ethel refuses at first, but he cries out in fear, so she takes pity and sings in Yiddish. Ethel says his name and he doesn’t answer. Then Belize enters and tells Roy to wake up for his medication. For a second, Belize thinks he’s dead. But Roy sits up suddenly, exclaiming that he’s alive, and he tricked Ethel because he wanted to see if he could finally get her to sing. Then Roy collapses into bed, muttering about wanting to be an octopus in his next life. He touches an imaginary phone button and says, “Hold” (247). Roy dies.

In the middle of the night, Hannah sleeps in a chair in Prior’s room. Prior stands on his bed. Hannah awakes and sees him, startled. Prior announces that the Angel is almost there, and the room goes completely dark. With a fanfare, the Angel appears, frightening in all black. Hannah screams. The Angel admonishes Prior, as she is there because Prior isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do. Prior declares that he doesn’t plan to follow orders, and she needs to find a new prophet. He adds that stopping people from migrating is a ridiculous idea. Hannah insists that this is a dream, and Prior points out that he’s following Hannah’s advice and rejecting the vision that isn’t benefiting him. Hannah exclaims that she thought the Angel was metaphorical. Urgently, Prior asks Hannah what he is supposed to do, according to biblical precedent. She tells Prior that he must wrestle with the Angel.

Prior falters, but the Angel alights in front of him, so he takes hold of her, and they wrestle. Prior demands that the Angel rescind the book that she placed inside him and give Prior a blessing. The Angel screeches back, her voice compounded into a chorus. There is a spectacular show of lights and sound. Then, angrily, the Angel tells Prior that he has won and needs to go to heaven and return the book. Afraid, Prior asks if he will be allowed to come back. The Angel, irritable, tells him that it’s his choice. Then, the Angel looks at Hannah, who exclaims that the Angel has nothing to do with her and needs to leave. The Angel beckons Hannah and kisses her on the forehead. Then, she gives Hannah a steamy kiss on the mouth. The Angel says, “The Body is the Garden of the Soul” (252). Hannah has an orgasm, and the Angel flies out.

Prior is in Heaven, holding the book. It looks like San Francisco after the earthquake of 1906. Prior sees Harper petting a cat, and she recognizes him as her imaginary friend. The cat is Little Sheba, who Prior and Louis were looking for at the start of the first play. Prior asks if Harper is dead, but she doesn’t know. She had sex with Joe and then he left, so she took too much valium and might have overdosed. Prior says that he’s not dead and is there on business, but he has the choice to stay or return to life; he isn’t sure what to pick. Harper says that Heaven isn’t nearly as good as life, even when life brings suffering. Prior suggests that they stay there together, but Harper replies that she understands now that all the movement and migration by Mormons is fueled by pain and heartbreak. She realizes that God doesn’t love Christians any more than Joe loves her. Needing to go home, she thinks this seems like a depressing place to spend eternity. Prior tells Harper that it is supposed to be San Francisco, although he adds that San Francisco is “unspeakably beautiful” (254) on Earth. Harper hopes to see that and disappears with the cat. Suddenly, Prior is inside what looks like City Hall, and the Angel greets him. 

In Roy’s hospital room at two in the morning, his body is still there. Belize hurries in Louis, who enters in sunglasses. Belize tells Louis to take them off and is concerned to see his injuries underneath. Louis says vaguely that it was penance for his sins. Belize explains that Louis needs to smuggle Roy’s stash of AZT out of the hospital, and that "she” needed a Jew to thank Roy for the pills. Louis is confused, and Belize orders him to start singing the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Louis balks, unwilling to pray for someone he hates so much, but Belize persuades him that forgiveness brings peace. Louis agrees, although he admits that he isn’t a very devout Jew and doesn’t know the Kaddish very well. Louis, who has never seen a dead body up close, places a tissue over Roy’s face and starts to sing. He struggles and Ethel joins in. Louis repeats after her, line by line, even after she finishes with, “You sonofabitch” (257). Ethel disappears and Belize thanks Louis, telling him that he did just fine. Louis replies, “Fine? […] That was fucking miraculous” (257).

At the same time, Joe enters his apartment, carrying his luggage and calling for Harper. Roy enters wearing a spectacular black velvet robe. Joe is confused and terrified, and Roy says that he is dead. Weakly, Joe accuses Roy of lying to him about cancer, which Roy shrugs off, asserting that Joe just feels bad for beating someone up. Joe admits that he feels terrible and starts to cry, knowing that Louis won’t ever want to see him again. Terrified, Joe begs Roy to leave, calling again for Harper. Instead, Roy says, “Show me a little of what you’ve learned, baby Joe. Out in the world” (259) and kisses Joe. Then Roy announces that he has to go and disappears. Harper enters, and they look at each other. When Joe questions her, she says that she was in Paradise with a friend.

Back in Heaven, the recorded voice announces that the Emergency Council of angels is meeting. The angels sit around a table piled with human artifacts and texts. They are the Continental Principalities: Europa (played by Joe), Africanii (Harper), Oceania (Belize), Asiatica (Hannah), Australia (Louis), and Antarctica (Roy). An old radio reports on the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, which in the world of the play will happen in about two months. The angels are horrified at how many people will die, although Antarctica (Roy), says that he would celebrate while watching the humans die since it’s their fault. Australia (Louis) reminds Antarctica that that is not allowed. They complain about the radio, which needs repairing, but they don’t know what to do, especially since it's their only means of keeping up to date with what humans are doing. They wish that God would return and tell them what to do. Prior enters with the Angel, who is the last Continental Principality: America.

The Angel introduces Prior, who tries to return the book. The angels don’t understand why, and Prior explains that migration and progress are a part of human nature and cannot be stopped. God isn’t going to return, and if he does, Prior asserts, they ought to sue him for the destruction and devastation he created by abandoning them. The Angel of America states, “Thus spake the prophet” (264). Oceania (Belize) recognizes that Prior wants to live, and Prior affirms that he is only 30 and has barely started his life. He asks the angels to heal him and to vanquish the plague. The angels, who mourn for the humans, reply that they have tried, but they don’t know how. Prior wants to be blessed and then to live again, even if he stays sick. The Angel of America explains that he only thinks he wants to live because he doesn’t know what is coming. Regardless, Prior would rather live, even if all he can find to live for is hope. Before he exits, Prior repeats that if God comes back, they should sue him.

The text notes that this scene is optional. Searching for his way out of Heaven, Prior comes upon Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz (Hannah) and Sarah Ironson (Louis) playing cards. Sarah speaks Yiddish, and the rabbi translates for her. Prior recognizes the rabbi and greets him, then asks if the woman is Sarah, noticing her resemblance to Louis. Prior exclaims that he attended her funeral. He also tells Sarah that Louis didn’t want her to know, but he is gay. Sarah responds mildly, and Prior asks why people are always playing cards in Heaven. The rabbi explains that all of the answers to life’s great questions are known in Heaven, but card games still have randomness and surprise. Prior wants to go home, and the rabbi says an incantation and summons a ladder. Sarah calls after him before he goes with a message for Louis. She says that Louis has been confused his entire life, but that isn’t an excuse. He should have gone to see her, but she forgives him, adding, “Tell him: […] You should struggle with the Almighty. […] It’s the Jewish way” (269).

The following morning, Prior returns to his hospital bed. He wakes up and Belize, who is sleeping in the chair, wakes up too and welcomes him back to life. Emily enters, glad to see Prior awake. Prior’s fever has broken. He asks about Hannah, and Belize replies in French, saying that she is in the bathroom and very intimidating. Prior explains that he had an incredible dream, and everyone was there. Hannah enters, and Prior thanks her for saving his life, though Hannah insists that all she did was sleep in the chair while having a strange dream. Louis enters, and there is a tense moment. Leaving, Emily tells Prior that he is “one of the lucky ones” (271). Prior questions Louis’s injured face, and Louis tells him that he came back with visible bruises. Hannah leaves, agreeing that she will come back if she can. Belize announces that he has a gift for Prior before he goes, handing him a bag full of pill bottles. Prior is stunned when he realizes what they are. Louis claims that the pills will make him better, but Prior replies, “They’re poison, they make you anemic” (271), and that sickness is just part of his life now. Prior is uncertain that he wants to risk the side effects, so Belize takes back the pills, promising that they will talk tomorrow. Alone with Prior, Louis tells him that he wants to come back to be with him.

On one side of a split scene are Prior and Louis, continuing from the previous scene, and on the other are Harper and Joe as they were at the end of Scene Four. Harper tells Joe to give her his credit card. She is leaving, and he can track her by her purchases if he wants, but she doesn’t want to talk to him anymore. Joe pleads with her not to leave, stating, “Harper. You’re my good heart” (272). Harper slaps him and tells him to remember how much it hurt. She promises that if she can find work and finance herself, she will destroy the card. Joe asks her to call, but Harper says that she will most likely never speak to him again. She plans to get lost and suggests that he do the same. Harper finds her valium and hands Joe two pills. In the hospital room, Louis falters, waiting for Prior to respond. Prior finally says that he loves Louis, but they cannot get back together.

The text notes that this scene is optional. Roy is in some form of the afterlife, up to his waist in a fiery pit. Roy gleefully promises to represent God in his paternity suit, defending him for abandonment. Even though Roy admits that God is “guilty as hell” (274), Roy reassures him that he will cheat and lie, and he always wins.

Louis and Prior are still sitting in the hospital, and Joe is alone in his apartment. Harper appears in the window of a plane that is mid-flight. She is on her way to San Francisco on a red eye. She is pleased to be so close to the ozone and explains that, due to her “astonishing ability to see such things” (275), she has seen souls of the dead floating up from the earth and merging with the ozone layer, repairing it. She concludes, “Nothing’s lost forever” (275).

It is February 1990, and Prior, Louis, Hannah, and Belize sit on the edge of the Bethesda Fountain, the angel looming over them. Hannah now looks like a New Yorker. Prior uses a cane and wears thick-lensed glasses. Louis and Belize argue about Eastern Europe and the fall of communism. Prior addresses the audience, muting their conversation. He explains that the fountain is his favorite spot in the city. He has been “living with AIDS for five years” (278), which is half a year more than he had lived with Louis when they were together. Louis, Hannah, and Belize continue their discussion, animatedly talking about theory and interconnectedness. Prior mutes them again and goes on, describing Bethesda, the angel on the fountain, as his favorite angel. He prefers statues to the real thing. Prior taps Louis to tell the story of Bethesda.

Louis explains that Bethesda had alit in Jerusalem in the Temple square, and a fountain erupted where her foot touched the ground. The fountain dried up when the Romans demolished the Temple. At Prior’s cue, Belize adds that bathing in the fountain of Bethesda heals anyone who is suffering either physically or spiritually. Hannah joins in and tells them that when the Millennium comes—not the year 2000 but the Millennium when Christ returns—the fountain will no longer be dry, and she promises to take Prior to Jerusalem to bathe there. This spurs Louis and Belize to start discussing the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Prior tells the audience that it is winter, but he hopes to be around in the summer to see the Bethesda Fountain in New York flowing. He says, “This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all, and the dead will be commemorated and will struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won’t die secret deaths anymore. […] And I bless you: More Life. The Great Work Begins” (280).