Tony Kushner: New Essays on the Art and Politics of the Plays

Playwright Tony Kushner is a voice of intellectualism, neo-socialism, gay activism, and political outrage in an era when political pendulum has swayed to the right. Through scalding humour, thought, and compassion, he explores political dynamics and the human condition in the modern era, shedding light on and giving hope for the direst of circumstances. His best known work,
Angels in America , delves beneath the anti-gay rhetoric and political superficiality of the AIDS pandemic to true suffering and transformation. His political epic
Homebody/Kabul
engages the issue of terrorism and conflicting fundamental beliefs. In this book, 11 scholars explore the works of Tony Kushner across his career. Several address
Angels : one explores the presentation of homosexuality by Kushner compared to that of Tennessee Williams, who wrote in a less tolerant era; another places
Angels
in the contexts of Hegel’s concept of freedom and the gay revolution; a third discusses the play in terms of queer theory and politics.
Homebody/Kabul
is examined in two essays, one analyzing media reaction, the other exploring cultural and economic differences, religious fundamentalism and the
West’s luxurious predominance in the world.
Other studies address relationships in Kushner’s works to William Inge’s 1950 play
Come Back, Little Sheba ; the plays of experimentalist Adrienne Kennedy; and fascist creep in the era of playwrights W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood among other topics.