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Perestroika: Act 4, Scene 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Angels in America, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Homosexuality in the AIDS Era
Prophets and Prophecies
Progressivism, Conservatism, and Change
Fantasy, Escape, and Tragedy
The Clash between People and Principles
Summary
Analysis
Prior and Belize stand in Joe Pitt’s office building. Belize suggests that they leave, but Prior tells Belize to leave if he’s “chicken.” Prior explains that he wants to meet Joe, his “replacement.”
As the play goes on, the characters who don’t know one another seek each other out. Prior, still in love with Louis, wants to know whom Louis has been seeing.
Themes
While Belize waits outside, Prior confronts Joe. He tells Joe, “I’m a prophet.” Joe is confused, but Prior continues to talk. He compares Joe to the dummy he saw in the Mormon Visitors’ Center. He warns Joe of the dangers of stealing other people’s loves, and then leaves abruptly.
Kushner further confuses the idea of fantasy, as (to Harper at least) we have seen that Joe really was the dummy in the Mormon Visitor’s Center. Prior becomes an increasingly volatile, unpredictable character as the play continues—because of his disease, he has nothing to lose, and he seems to be embracing his identity as a prophet.
Themes
Joe rushes outside, where he finds Prior and Belize. Joe immediately recognizes Belize as Cohn’s nurse—something Belize denies unconvincingly. Prior and Belize try to run away from Joe, but Joe outruns them. Prior claims that he’s a mental patient, trying to “contest a will.” He calls Joe a pig. Joe hesitantly asks Prior if this is about Louis. Prior continues yelling at Joe, rather than answer Joe’s question. Belize, speaking in French, tells Prior that it’s time to leave, and together they walk out of the building.
In this amusing sequence, Belize and Prior do what they do best: they play roles. One thing that unites many of the characters is their talent for impersonation—from dressing in drag to reenacting theatrical roles. Performance and camp are important parts of life for the male gay community, especially as Kushner portrays it.
Themes
