Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Young, Jessica
Area of Concentration
English
Abstract
The focus of this thesis considers how identity, kinship, and intimacy arose in theater during the AIDS epidemic, specifically in the works of William Finn’s In Trousers and Falsettos, and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. In Chapter 1, I first consider gay theater prior to the AIDS epidemic in the form of In Trousers, connecting how the musical reflects the needs of the gay community prior to the spread of the AIDS epidemic. Then in Chapter 2, I do a close reading of Falsettos and I consider how these needs evolve, specifically in how the gay identity is tied to kinship and intersecting identities, and the impact AIDS has on the portrayal of these needs. Finally in Chapter 3, I focus on specific characters in Angels in America, exploring the ways in which identity in the show is complicated. This thesis’ focus is on the ways in which AIDS theater handled the fears and anxieties of this period and reflected what many in the gay community were missing or struggling to understand of their own relationships and identity during a period of mass disease and death in the gay community.
Recommended Citation
Sernaker, Phoebe, "“VERY JEWISH, VERY MIDDLE CLASS, AND VERY STRAIGHT”: Intimacy, Kinship, and the Intersection of Identities in Falsettos and Angels in America in the Time of AIDS" (2021). Theses & ETDs. 6140.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6140