Louis recognizes Joe as a “fellow homosexual,” and together they begin an unlikely romance. In the hospital, Cohn is visited by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, who mocks Cohn for his corruption, and tells him that he’ll be disbarred soon.Īt work, Joe crosses paths with Louis, who works as a typist at Joe’s firm. He’s further startled when Cohn reveals that he unethically conspired to ensure the execution of Ethel Rosenberg for treason.

Joe, now living alone, is shaken by Cohn’s corruption, and refuses to help Cohn. He tries to convince Joe to take the job in Washington so that Joe can convince the Justice Department to back off the disbarment process. In his dreams, Prior hears a voice telling him that he’s a prophet, and that he will begin a “Great Work” soon.Īs Cohn’s condition deteriorates, he faces the prospect of being disbarred for his decades of bribery and professional corruption. Meanwhile, Prior is admitted to the hospital, where he’s taken care of by Emily, a young nurse. Because Cohn has made his career denouncing liberals and homosexuals, he claims that he has “liver cancer.” His nurse in the hospital-who recognizes that he has AIDS-is Belize, a former lover of Prior. Roy Cohn then learns that he has AIDS-his decades of illicit homosexuality have taken their toll. At the same time, Harper accuses Joe of being homosexual, and tells him that she’s leaving him-he should go to Washington without her. Shortly afterwards, Louis tells Prior that he’s moving out of their apartment, despite his love for Prior. Prior tells Harper that her husband (Joe Pitt) is gay. In one of Harper’s hallucinations, she crosses path with Prior, who is dressed as a woman. Lies, a travel agent who takes her around the world. She has long hallucinations about her imaginary friend, Mr. When Joe proposes this idea to his pill-popping wife, Harper, Harper is reluctant to leave New York. Cohn offers Joe a chance to work in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Joe Pitt, a young, ambitious Mormon law clerk, meets with his mentor, the powerful New York attorney and conservative icon Roy Cohn. While he loves Prior, and has been living with him for years, he’s afraid to continue doing so now that he knows he could be endangering his own life. Shortly after the death of his grandmother, Sarah Ironson, Louis Ironson learns that his boyfriend, Prior Walter, has AIDS.

Part One of Angels in America takes place in 1985.

Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner