Tony Kushner s Angels Of Americ A Gay Fantasia On...

The Struggles Accompanying Homosexuality in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America Set in the late 1980s, a period of regression and tragedy for the homosexual community, Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, explores the lives of four gay men living in New York. Kushner’s two part drama expounds some of the many difficulties encountered by gays during this time period. While two of his characters, Joe Pitt and Roy Cohn, both struggle significantly with their sexual orientation and identity, their troubles surface as a result of different aspects of their lives. Joe Pitt, who, as it becomes clear, is a closeted homosexual, holds both political and religious views that do not mesh well with his sexual orientation. Current Reaganite and lifelong republican, Joe was raised on conservative, right-wing values. As if that weren’t enough, Joe is also a Mormon and belongs to a religious community that forbids any sexual behavior between two people of the same gender and deems such homosexual acts a sin punishabl e by a disciplinary council (â€Å"Homosexuality†). During his first homosexual encounter, Joe expresses his fears of punishment not simply from his church community, but from God himself: JOE: I†¦ want†¦ to touch you. Can I please just touch you†¦ um, here? (He puts his hand on one side of Louis’s face. He holds it there.) I’m going to Hell for doing this. (123) As a result of his religious upbringing, Joe believes that acts of homosexuality