Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika Versions of Reality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)

Quote #7

Prior: Louis...
Louis (Hearing him): Did you...
Joe: What?
Louis: I thought I heard... Somebody. Prior. (3.3.74-76)

Wow, as if there weren't already enough layers of reality in the diorama room, here comes another. All the weird stuff we talked about in the previous quote is going on, and on top of that Louis can actually hear Prior's voice. Even though they aren't physically present in the same space, the two are somehow connected.

Quote #8

Hannah: You've go no business with me, I didn't call you, you're his fever dream not mine, and he's gone now and you should go too, I'm waking up right... NOW! (5.1.27).

This attempt at waking up fails, and Hannah remains in what may or may not be a dream. The fact that both Prior and Hannah both see the angel makes it seem as if she is actually there. Could it be that in the world of Angels in America, dreams are just as real as "reality"?

Quote #9

Harper: [...] Where are we?
Prior: Heaven.
Harper: Heaven? I'm in Heaven? (5.2.4-6)

Harper and Prior cross paths in dreamland one last time when they meet up in Heaven. Or are they really in Heaven? Oh, who knows, we give up... Does it really matter if it's real or a dream? If the people experiencing it think it's real, then it's real, right? Right? As a random side note, Harper's line makes us think of Fred Astaire singing the cute song "Cheek to Cheek" to Ginger Rogers.