Angels in America (Book help)

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

I need to think of actors to play the main characters in the book/play. (Harper, Prior, Louis, Joe, Roy, Belize)
All are within the ages of 20-30
Harper is a pain killer addict, and has an imaginary friend.
Prior is moral, stable, and gay. He's white, and should be able to look Sickly.
Louis is not very moral (he leaves Prior when he has AIDS), very right, gay, and white. Self-righteous.
Joe is in law, and is very right wing. He's also gay.
Roy is white, closet gay, and a power-lawyer. Need to be egotistical.
Belize is black, gay, and a former drag queen. Also very moral and stable.

 

[cpawfan]

Make it a one man show with Robert Downey Jr playing all of the roles.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Oh, and they have to be actors :/

No Samwell, I guess.

 

[isrus]

sounds like a good book? Sorry i can't think of any actors for those ages

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

I liked it.

 

[isrus]

Do the actors have to have the same traits in real life

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

I hope not. . I just need to be able to rationalize who I picked.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Any more advice?

 

[Dumpy]

Any more advice?

take a look at who played the parts when the show opened on broadway, and maybe it will give you some ideas.

 

[isrus]

I think Al Pacino was in it

 

[isrus]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318997/

 

[cpawfan]

Are you going for any type of angle with your answers? What are you being graded on, the selections or the reasoning?

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

What also sucks is that we were given an assignment, only given class time, mind you, to create this playbill thing. One part was creating a summary for each act. Everyone else's plays were 100 pages, 2 acts. Mine was 280 pages, 5 acts. Needless to say, the space and time provided does not suffice. :\

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Are you going for any type of angle with your answers? What are you being graded on, the selections or the reasoning?

Honestly? The ability to BS . So I guess that's reasoning.


For anyone who hasn't read it, I recommend it.

Unfortunately, we can't choose any actors from any of the productions ( guess that means the HBO series too).

 

[cpawfan]

I'd pick actors that have done mostly comedy and the talk about the justification with the juxtaposition of their backgrounds.

Like Topher Grace and Wilmer Valderrama

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

What movie was Julia Roberts in with that neat-freak, abusive husband? She could do Harper pretty well.

 

[Dumpy]

When I saw Angels in America on broadway, Roy Cohn was played by F. Murray Abraham. He needs to be played by someone who can exhibit immense charisma and strength of character in a shakespearean sense. The key to Roy is that it was inconceivable to anyone--the other characters, the audience, himself--that he was gay. someone like Patrick Stewart could pull it off.

As for Joe--I think it was Joe who was Roy's assistant, right? IIRC, he is very conflicted and has trouble defining himself--he want to be a straightlaced conservative republican but eventually realises he just doesn't fit in. [it was 15 years ago that i saw this, BTW, so my memory is a bit hazy] Someone like Mos Def might be interesting in that role; someone who portrays a lot of dignity, and who doesn't want to be a stereotype. By choosing Mos Def, he'd have a further internal conflict, that is, trying to be seen as both a gay republican and a black republican.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

He wasn't really an assistant, more like a very close friend. Roy was his mentor.

The idea of Mos Def playing Joe is very interesting, and IMO, would add another dimension to the story. However, I'm sure accuracy holds a heavy weight, and this is only a small part of the assignment. Mos Def for Belize?

 

[Dumpy]

He wasn't really an assistant, more like a very close friend. Roy was his mentor.

The idea of Mos Def playing Joe is very interesting, and IMO, would add another dimension to the story. However, I'm sure accuracy holds a heavy weight, and this is only a small part of the assignment. Mos Def for Belize?

I don't remember the other characters very well, but I think that Belize was very flamboyant (or at least learned how to repress his flamboyance, but it came out from time to time), and that Mos Def wouldn't pull it off very well.

To go back to Roy, the key to his character is that he is very masculine, and always in control--and again, there is just no way in hell that he is gay. The prototypical Roy would be someone like John Wayne.

I don't remember Louis at all, but I like Kevin Kline in anything, and it sounds like he'd be perfect:

[video=youtube;dKgZ6vp3DBs]

 

[Dumpy]

you have to bear with me--I don't watch TV so it is hard for me to recommend actors. The guy in Will and Grace who plays the lawyer would probably be an OK Joe--it is essentially the same character, from what I understand.

but if you have to stay within the age limits you mentioned for the actors, I can't really help you very much.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

The thing with Belize is, is that the only flamboyant properties he possesses are:
1.) He used to be a drag queen
2.) He speaks French, at times.

He's the stable, moral, rock in the book.

Louis is very outspoken, and unstable. Who roles has Kevin played that could exhibit this?

 

[Dumpy]

The thing with Belize is, is that the only flamboyant properties he possesses are:
1.) He used to be a drag queen
2.) He speaks French, at times.

He's the stable, moral, rock in the book.

Louis is very outspoken, and unstable. Who roles has Kevin played that could exhibit this?

Kevin Kline is one of the finest american actors alive--he can do anything. About 25 years ago I saw him on Broadway in "The Pirates of Penzance." I remember it very clearly. I was in high school. He played his role very slapsticky, and he had me and a friend in hysterics--we were laughing so hard that some of the actors on stage started laughing, also. The rest of the audience was a typical crowd, and they didn't "get" it--and they were pissed at us for laughing. Anyway, if the clip I posted from "In and Out" didn't convince you, how about this one. You cant get more unstable than Hamlet.

[video=youtube;kwd98zMxKEg]

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Kevin Kline looks good for Louis. Belize, Prior, and Joe left.

 

[Dumpy]

see if this helps you picture what the characters are like


[video=youtube;oiTCym4Z3Kg]

 

[Dumpy]

If he hadn't passed away, John Spencer would have made a good Roy.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

The Joe and Louis seen was awesome. Louis looked exactly like how I thought he would like, while reading the play (I imagined Joe looked like something like Al Leiter).

I'll scratch Belize from the characters list. Joe and Prior to go.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

If he hadn't passed away, John Spencer would have made a good Roy.

Didn't John Wayne also pass away?

 

[Dumpy]

Didn't John Wayne also pass away?

yeah, I wasn't really nominaing Wayne, just trying to give you a sense of the masculinity he would have to exude. I don't think Wayne could handle that part--especially Part II of the play, where Roy gets sick, wastes away, and ultimately dies. (I think I also saw F. Murray in that one also). It is a very demanding role. I really think Patrick Stewart might be the best bet.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

If I can choose the deceased, I'll use Spencer. If not, Patrick works.

Any tips on Joe and Prior?

 

[Dumpy]

I don't remember the role of Prior. Is this what you're looking for?

[video=youtube;SfrhCvDLlCg]