Angels in America and Mormonism
Angels in America and Mormonism
The world is constantly changing and with that so is Mormonism. This form of religion has made many changes to itself as the times change. One can see this in the play “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner. Through this play, one can begin to understand the religion and its beliefs fairly easily. Tony Kushner was born in 1956 in the city of Manhattan. Kushner achieved his Bachelor of Arts degree in medieval studies from Columbia University. From this Kushner went on to study directing at New York University. At NYU he began to direct his early works and also A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Kushner’s most well known work is Angels in America.
This play concentrates on three main households that appear to be falling apart. The households contain a gay couple, one of whom has AIDS; a Mormon man coming to terms with his sexuality and his crazy wife; and the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn who denies his sexuality during the entire play. As the viewer follows the play one can notice that another significant part of this play is the prominence of the Mormon community. Through the duration of the play one can see that the Mormon community influence weighs heavily on certain characters. Not many people know what Mormonism is let alone the many changes that it has had to go through to gain acceptance and grow in this society. The religion is made up of institutional, cultural, and religious aspects. It was founded by Joseph Smith in the 1830’s and is part of the Latter Day Saints. The Book of Mormon is accepted by the Mormon Church (LDS) as scripture along with the Bible. Mormonism also refers to the doctrine taught by Joseph Smith and the succeeding prophets and leaders of the Mormon Church. It views human life as one of the stages in the eternal progression of intelligent beings that are God 's spirit children. Men and women are allowed to choose whether to accept or reject Christ 's gospel,
The world is constantly changing and with that so is Mormonism. This form of religion has made many changes to itself as the times change. One can see this in the play “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner. Through this play, one can begin to understand the religion and its beliefs fairly easily. Tony Kushner was born in 1956 in the city of Manhattan. Kushner achieved his Bachelor of Arts degree in medieval studies from Columbia University. From this Kushner went on to study directing at New York University. At NYU he began to direct his early works and also A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Kushner’s most well known work is Angels in America.
This play concentrates on three main households that appear to be falling apart. The households contain a gay couple, one of whom has AIDS; a Mormon man coming to terms with his sexuality and his crazy wife; and the infamous lawyer Roy Cohn who denies his sexuality during the entire play. As the viewer follows the play one can notice that another significant part of this play is the prominence of the Mormon community. Through the duration of the play one can see that the Mormon community influence weighs heavily on certain characters. Not many people know what Mormonism is let alone the many changes that it has had to go through to gain acceptance and grow in this society. The religion is made up of institutional, cultural, and religious aspects. It was founded by Joseph Smith in the 1830’s and is part of the Latter Day Saints. The Book of Mormon is accepted by the Mormon Church (LDS) as scripture along with the Bible. Mormonism also refers to the doctrine taught by Joseph Smith and the succeeding prophets and leaders of the Mormon Church. It views human life as one of the stages in the eternal progression of intelligent beings that are God 's spirit children. Men and women are allowed to choose whether to accept or reject Christ 's gospel,
Cited: 1.) "History of Mormonism." History of Mormonism . N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://historyofmormonism.com/>. 2.) "Is there such thing as a gay mormon." Mormon Position on Homosexuality . N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec 2010. <http://www.suite101.com/content/mormon-position-on-homosexuality-a152012>. 3.) Kachka, Boris. "How I Made It: Tony Kushner on 'Angels in America '." 7 APR 2008: n. pag. Web. 12 Dec 2010. <http://nymag.com/anniversary/40th/culture/45774/>. 4.) Rich, Frank. "Review/Theater: Angels in America; Millennium Approaches; Embracing All Possibilities in Art and Life ." New York Times 5 May 1993, Print.