Review: Angels in America: Millennium Approaches

Review: Angels in America: Millenium Approaches | Vintage Theatre | Aurora, CO | Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald

Few works in American theatre are as seismic as Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, the Pulitzer Prize–winning epic that expanded the limits of the form when Part One: Millennium Approaches premiered on Broadway in 1993. I saw that original production, and even now its impact feels undeniable—a mix of prophecy, fury, and fragile hope that has only grown stronger over time. To experience it again at Vintage Theatre—now for the second time in the company’s history—is to feel the ground shift once more. Under director Bernie Cardell, this revival doesn’t just restage a historic play; it is reopening a national wound and invites us to face the light streaming through the cracks.

At its core, Millennium Approaches follows a group of New Yorkers in the mid-1980s—gay men, closeted conservatives, a marriage in turmoil, a prophet in waiting—whose lives intersect under the shadow of AIDS, abandonment, and a nation losing its moral compass. The reason Angels in America: Millennium Approaches struck like lightning in 1993, and why it continues to resonate so powerfully in 2026, is that Kushner refuses to let the play stay a period piece. Its questions about justice, identity, illness, faith, and the delicate ways we try to love each other feel as relevant today as they did during the height of the crisis. The world has changed, yes, but the play’s insistence that we face our shared responsibility—to each other, to history, to the future—remains as impactful as ever.

L to R: Johnathan Underwood as Mr. Lies & Nicole Kaiser as Harper Pitt | Photography Credit: RDG Photography

What ultimately grounds this production is the cohesion of its ensemble, eight actors working in concert to carry the play’s emotional and thematic weight while moving through multiple roles with clarity and intention. Casey Board’s Prior Walter anchors the piece with a sharp, aching wit that never loses its tenderness, while Chad Hewitt lets Joe Pitt’s internal fracture surface in small, telling gestures that speak volumes. Dakota Hill brings Louis Ironson’s restless intellect and uneasy conscience into sharp relief, and Nicole Kaiser gives Harper Pitt a fragile immediacy that makes her dreamlike spirals feel painfully human. Kelly Uhlenhopp’s Angel enters with a presence that is both rooted and otherworldly, and her brief turn as the homeless woman lands with amazing emotional force.

L to R: Casey Board as Prior Walter & Dakota Hill as Louis Ironson | Photography credit: RDG Photography

Haley Johnson charts Hannah Pitt’s sternness and emerging warmth with crisp precision, capturing a woman reshaped by the world she steps into. Johnathan Underwood threads humor, clarity, and moral weight through Belize—Prior’s truthful friend, former drag queen turned nurse, and the play’s moral ballast—and then shifts seamlessly into the cool, hypnotic presence of Mr. Lies, sharpening every scene he enters. At the center, Andrew Uhlenhopp’s portrayal of Roy Cohn commands the stage with a performance of such control and ferocity that it becomes one of the production’s defining gravitational pulls. Together, they form an ensemble that listens deeply, responds truthfully, and makes Kushner’s world feel fully inhabited.

L to R: Andrew Uhlenhopp as Roy Cohn & Chad Hewitt as Joe Pitt | Photography credit: RDG Photography

Bernie Cardell’s direction, assisted by Daniel Traylor, gives Millennium Approaches a steady, grounded spine. He has a clear read on Kushner’s themes—faith cracking under pressure, the politics of survival, the collision of private and public selves—and he lets those threads sit in the room without forcing them. Scenes speak to each other in a way that feels intentional but unshowy, and the production keeps its focus on the human cost running underneath the play’s big ideas. It’s the kind of disciplined, thoughtful work that has defined Cardell’s leadership at Vintage.

L to R: Kelly Uhlenhopp as Sister Ella Chapter & Haley Johnson as Hannah Pitt | Photography credit: RDG Photography

The physical production is anchored by Brendan T. Cochran’s smart, utilitarian set—an adaptable framework that allows the story to breathe while keeping the focus on the actors and the emotional stakes. Jasper Day’s costumes reflect each character’s inner world with subtle clarity, providing period detail without feeling overdone. Emily Maddox’s lighting shapes the play’s shifting realities with precision, guiding us through moments of intimacy, rupture, and revelation. And Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry’s sound design adds an atmospheric undercurrent that supports the production’s tonal shifts. Together, these elements create a cohesive environment that enhances Kushner’s world without overpowering it.

In a moment when our world feels increasingly unstable, staging Angels in America: Millennium Approaches isn’t just timely—it’s essential. Vintage Theatre, guided by Bernie Cardell’s steady artistic leadership, approaches this responsibility with conviction, delivering a production that refuses to shy away from the play’s tough questions or its enduring hope. The cast—each actor providing sharp focus and emotional honesty—bears the weight of Kushner’s world with impressive cohesion. With Angels in America, Parts 1 and 2 running through May 10, this is a must-see for anyone who believes in theatre’s power to confront, illuminate, and bring us together during turbulent times.

For information and tickets: https://www.vintagetheatre.org/performances/angelsinamerica