Western Connecticut State University will present “Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,” Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama, in its Studio Theatre at the university’s Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC), 43 Lake Ave. Extension, Danbury. The WCSU production runs from Nov. 3 – 12. Tickets can be purchased in advance at wcsuvpac.eventbrite.com.

Also, a Community Conversation event will take place after the Sunday, Nov. 5, matinee. Joining the play’s director, cast members, a designer and WCSU student dramaturg Liv Lanteri is Professor Michael Schiavi of the New York Institute of Technology, a specialist in LGBTQ+ culture and author of the biography of queer film scholar and archivist Vito Russo.

“Angels in America” explores the effects of AIDS on two men in 1980s New York City. The drama, known as “A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” tells the tale of a gay man who is abandoned by his lover when he contracts the HIV virus and how a closeted Mormon lawyer’s marriage struggles. It premiered on Broadway in 1993 and was made into an HBO mini-series in 2003 starring Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.

WCSU’s production of “Angels in America” is directed by Tim Howard, associate professor and coordinator of the B.F.A. in Musical Theatre degree program, and stars WCSU students. “The cast is stellar. They understand working on this Pulitzer, Drama Desk and Tony Award-winning play is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for them,” said Howard. “I chose to do this piece in WCSU’s Studio Theatre and create an experience that is more environmental and immediate for those attending. This provides many opportunities in staging that will consistently surprise the audience. The energy in the rehearsal room is extremely exciting and we can’t wait to share our work,” he added.

Howard continued, “Having the opportunity to direct one of the most magnificently written plays in the last century is thrilling. The playwright wrote an essay on ‘Theatre of the Fabulous,’ and this has inspired me as a director. I think this concept allows me to create stunning visuals, and both entertain and deeply move our audiences.” For more information about WCSU’s Department of Theatre Arts, go to www.wcsu.edu/theatrearts/.

Showtimes are Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 11, at 1 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. Ticket prices online at wcsuvpac.eventbrite.com are $32 plus fees for General Admission; $25 plus fees for those aged 65 and over; $20 plus fees for group tickets and for non-WCSU students; and $10 plus fees for WCSU students.

For more information about “Angels in America” contact Eric Gomez at gomeze@wcsu.edu or WCSU Communications and Marketing at pr@wcsu.edu.