"That was Heaven". Hadrian's Villa as "fabulous" Heaven in Angels in America by Mike Nichols "That was Heaven". Villa Adriana come Paradiso "favoloso" in Angels in America di Mike Nichols

Angels in America is still Tony Kushner’s major achievement. In adapting it for television, Mike Nichols accurately respected the political agenda of the author (democratic, hebrew and homosexual), who also wrote the screenplay. The choice of Hadrian’s Villa (instead of a San Francisco devastated by the earthquake of 1906) as a background for the scenes which take place in the Paradise can be understood as coherent with Kushner’s ideological perspective, as well as with his original camp aesthetics. Angels in America rappresenta il punto più alto del teatro politicamente impegnato di Tony Kushner. Nella sua versione televisiva, sceneggiata dallo stesso Kushner, Mike Nichols ha rispettato accuratamente gli obiettivi militanti del drammaturgo (democratico, ebreo e omosessuale). Anche la scelta di Villa Adriana per fare da sfondo alle scene ambientate in paradiso, in sostituzione della San Francisco terremotata che compariva nell’originale, può essere fatta rientrare in modo coerente nella prospettiva ideologica dell’autore, e può essere accordata alla sua poetica intesa a ripensare l’estetica camp.