It is almost impossible to talk about modern American theater without hitting a wall of reverence for Tony Kushner’s seven-hour behemoth. But when we talk about this play, we aren't just talking about the script. We are talking about the cast of Angels in America, a revolving door of legends who somehow managed to make a play about the 1980s AIDS crisis, Mormonism, and Antarctic travel feel like the most urgent thing on the planet.
Some plays are bigger than their actors. This one? It eats actors alive if they aren't ready for it.
The Original Broadway Lightning Strike (1993)
If you were at the Walter Kerr Theatre in 1993, you saw something that probably ruined other plays for you. The original Broadway cast of Angels in America featured Stephen Spinella as Prior Walter. Spinella didn't just play the role; he owned it across the entire development of the play, eventually winning two consecutive Tony Awards for the same character across Millennium Approaches and Perestroika.
He was gaunt. He was funny. He was terrified.
Then you had Joe Mantello playing Louis Ironson. Most people know Mantello now as a powerhouse director (Wicked, anyone?), but back then, he was the neurotic, guilt-ridden heart of the show. Alongside them was Kathleen Chalfant, who pulled off a feat of theatrical gymnastics by playing multiple roles, including a male Russian revolutionary and the straight-laced Hannah Pitt.
The chemistry was weird. It was jagged. It worked because it didn't feel like "acting" in the traditional sense. It felt like watching people have a collective nervous breakdown under very bright lights.
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Why the 2003 HBO Cast Changed Everything
Let's be real: most of us didn't see the 1993 production. We saw the Mike Nichols miniseries. When people search for the cast of Angels in America, they are usually looking for the heavy hitters: Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, and Emma Thompson.
It’s rare that a "star-studded" cast actually delivers, but this was the exception.
Al Pacino as Roy Cohn remains one of the most terrifying things ever put on film. He didn't play Cohn as a cartoon villain. He played him as a dying predator who was still trying to bite. And Meryl Streep? She played four different roles. She was the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, a rabbi, a Mormon mother, and the Angel herself (briefly). It’s easy to forget how much heavy lifting Justin Kirk did as Prior Walter in this version. He had to be the foil to Pacino’s screaming energy, and he did it with a dry, cynical wit that kept the whole thing from sinking into melodrama.
Jeffrey Wright also deserves a permanent spot in the hall of fame. He is the only actor to win a Tony and an Emmy for playing the same role in Angels in America—the incomparable Belize. His performance is the moral compass of the story. Without Belize, the play is just white people complaining about their problems. Wright brought a grounded, "tell-it-like-it-is" energy that basically saved the narrative from its own abstractions.
The 2018 Revival: A New Kind of Energy
A few years back, the National Theatre brought a revival to Broadway that reminded everyone why this play is a beast. This cast of Angels in America was led by Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane.
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Garfield’s Prior Walter was different. It was physical. He was flopping around the stage, sweaty and desperate, making the illness feel tangible in a way that previous versions sometimes glossed over in favor of the "poetic" dialogue. Nathan Lane playing Roy Cohn was a massive risk. People think of Nathan Lane and think of The Producers or The Birdcage. But he was vicious. He brought a specific kind of New York "street fighter" energy to Cohn that made the character's eventual decline feel like the felling of an old, rotten oak tree.
And we have to talk about Denise Gough as Harper Pitt. Harper is a notoriously difficult role. She's a valium-addicted Mormon housewife who sees visions. It can easily become annoying or "floaty." Gough made her feel like a woman whose brain was literally on fire.
What Actors Get Wrong About These Roles
The problem with the cast of Angels in America in smaller, regional, or college productions is that they try to act "the importance" of it.
You can't do that.
Kushner wrote these characters as messy, selfish, and often unlikable. When the cast tries to make them heroes, the play dies. The 2003 and 2018 casts succeeded because they weren't afraid to be ugly. They understood that the "angels" in the title aren't just the literal one that crashes through the ceiling; it’s a metaphor for the terrifying responsibility of staying alive and moving forward.
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Key Performances You Might Have Missed
While the big names get the headlines, several other actors have defined these roles in major productions:
- Ben Whishaw: Played Prior in a notable London production. He brought a fragile, almost alien quality to the part.
- Christian Borle: Most people know him from Smash or Something Rotten!, but he played Prior in the 2010 Off-Broadway revival.
- Billy Porter: Long before Pose, he played Belize in that same 2010 revival. His take was arguably more flamboyant and biting than Jeffrey Wright’s.
The Complexity of Casting "The Angel"
Casting the Angel is a nightmare for directors. Do you go with a powerhouse like Emma Thompson? Or someone more ethereal? In the original Broadway run, Ellen McLaughlin was the Angel. She spent a lot of time suspended on wires, which is way less glamorous than it sounds.
The Angel represents "stasis"—the idea that God has abandoned us and we should just stop moving. The actress has to be imposing, divine, and yet strangely pathetic. It’s a bizarre tonal tightrope that very few performers can walk without looking a bit silly in a pair of giant wings.
How to Study These Performances
If you’re an actor or just a theater nerd looking to understand what makes a great cast of Angels in America, you have to look at the overlap.
- Watch the HBO Miniseries for the Dialogue: Mike Nichols allowed the actors to breathe. You can hear the rhythm of Kushner’s "fantasia" perfectly. Pay attention to how Pacino uses silence. It's rare for him.
- Look for Clips of the 2018 Revival: Notice the physicality. This production moved away from the "talking heads" style and made the play feel like an action movie for the soul.
- Read the Script While Listening: If you can find the audio versions, do it. The way the lines are broken up on the page tells the actor exactly when to breathe.
The legacy of the cast of Angels in America isn't just about who was the most famous. It’s about who could handle the weight of the history the play carries. It’s about the actors who weren't afraid to stand on a stage for seven hours and talk about death, taxes, and the terrifying beauty of "more life."
To truly appreciate the depth of these performances, your next step is to watch the "split-scene" between Joe/Harper and Louis/Prior in the first act of the HBO version. It is a masterclass in editing and acting synchronization. Observe how the two separate arguments begin to bleed into one another tonally—it’s the definitive proof that this play requires a cast that functions as a single, vibrating organism rather than a collection of individuals. From there, compare Nathan Lane’s "I am a man who has sex with men" monologue to Al Pacino’s. The difference in their vocal placement tells you everything you need to know about their different interpretations of Roy Cohn’s power.