Originally Published: May 1, 1993

By: Tony Kushner

A harrowing tale of a group of people dealing with love, nerves and AIDS, Angels in America is required reading at its best.

Louis leaves his partner Prior because he can’t watch him die from AIDS and gets involved with conservative Joe. However, Joe is married to a woman named Harper, who’s having a nervous breakdown. Joe also works alongside Roy Cohn – a real life figure whose story is fictionalized here – who is also suffering from AIDS.

Angels in America is written as two full-length plays: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. Instead of reading like a normal novel, you’re reading a play filled with stage directions and dialogue. The stage directions enhance what you hear from the characters and helps you visualize the performance.

It’s no wonder why this heartbreaking play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Final say: A must-read. ★★★★★