The two parts of the play, Millennium Approaches and Perestroika , may be presented separately. Part one of the play premiered in , followed by part two in The play is a complex, often metaphorical, and at times symbolic examination of AIDS and homosexuality in the United States in the s. Certain major and minor characters are supernatural beings angels or deceased persons ghosts.
The play contains multiple roles for several actors. Initially and primarily focusing on one gay and one straight couple in Manhattan, the plot has several additional storylines, some of which intersect occasionally. In , playwright and professor of theater studies John M.
Clum called the play "a turning point in the history of gay drama, the history of American drama, and of American literary culture". Later that year the production transferred to Broadway, where it received eleven Tony Award nominations, the most ever received by a play at the time. As Prior's illness progresses, Louis becomes unable to cope, and he abandons Prior during a health episode that lands him in the hospital. Prior is given emotional support by their friend Belize, a hospital nurse and ex- drag queen , who separately also deals with Louis's self-castigating guilt and myriad excuses for leaving Prior.
Joe Pitt, a Mormon Republican clerk in the same judge's office where Louis holds a word-processing job, is offered a position in Washington, D. Joe hesitates to accept due to his agoraphobic , Valium -addicted wife Harper, who refuses to relocate.
Feeling adrift and undesired by Joe, Harper retreats into drug-fueled escapist fantasies, including a dream where she crosses paths with Prior even though the two of them have never met in the real world. She confronts Joe about his deeply-closeted homosexuality, which he views as a sin. Torn by pressure from Roy and a burgeoning infatuation with Louis, Joe drunkenly comes out to his conservative mother Hannah, who reacts by changing the subject and hanging up the phone.
