1996 CONTROVERSY IN THE QUEEN CITY
'Angels' flap being turned into comedy
JULIE YORK COPPENS
Theater Writer

Charlotte's ugliest arts drama soon will return to a stage near you -- only this time, it's going to be a comedy.

Nationally recognized playwright Eric Coble is researching an original piece inspired by the "Angels in America" controversy of 1996. A production of Tony Kushner's AIDS-focused epic was a creative coup but a political disaster for Charlotte Repertory Theatre, as the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners suspended public arts funding for three years.

Coble spoke with the Observer Monday, the first of four days probing archives and interviewing key players in what some remember as an embarrassing episode for Charlotte.

Among the plot twists: an attempt by the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, the Rep's landlord, to shut "Angels" down over concerns that a brief nude scene constituted indecent exposure; efforts by Mayor Pat McCrory, then in his first term, to pressure the Rep to tone down the play's profanity, violence and simulated sex; a last-minute court order that let the show go on, unaltered; picket lines on opening night; and accusations that the only thing world-class about Charlotte was the intolerance of its most vocal citizens.

"It was a famous incident in the (larger) theater community," said Coble, a Cleveland-based playwright who specializes in over-the-top social satire. "For me, comedy is all about... when people take their deeply held beliefs to illogical extremes. They may have the best of intentions, but they go too far."

In the case of "Angels," Coble suggests, Rep artists and supporters were as guilty as the gay-bashing protesters in letting their emotions cloud their judgment. That same dynamic played out in cities across the country during the 1980s and '90s, in what came to be known as the Culture Wars.

"If there's going to be any mocking in (my script), I want to go at it from all sides," the playwright says. "The good little theater versus the horrendous politicians -- that's not a very interesting story to me."

At the same time, Coble insists, "I want to be respectful of the community. My goal is not to hurt anybody, or to make fun of any individuals."

Coble's as-yet-untitled play, slated for production in 2008-09, is a commission by Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, the first effort of its kind for the small professional troupe on Stonewall Street. Actor's Theatre has produced such past Coble comedies as "Bright Ideas" and "Natural Selection," and has built a friendship with the up-and-comer. Money for the project came from longtime ATC supporter Michael Lakoff.

"How appropriate that it's a comedy he's writing," said Keith Martin, managing director of Charlotte Rep at the time of "Angels," now managing director of the Richmond Ballet in Virginia. "It really did play like a play or a movie. Is the title `A Comedy of Errors' taken?"

Martin laughed. Then he said Coble might consider a musical treatment, with a lot of "tap-dancing around issues" and, perhaps, a vocal quintet by the so-called "Gang of Five," the group of Mecklenburg County commissioners, led by Republican Chairman Tom Bush, who killed arts funding on April 1, 1997. (Martin proposed April Fool's Day as a launch date for Coble's opus.)

"I'm always pleased when a playwright seizes an opportunity to reflect on issues that are relevant to a community," Martin said, turning serious. "Now is the time... Charlotte has come a long way since `Angels.' "

The "Angels" brouhaha might have had its comic moments, but the consequences were serious. Most Rep insiders point to 1996 as the beginning of the company's end, which finally came in 2005 after a series of bad board decisions, accumulating debt and other problems. Nearly three years later, Charlotte remains one of a handful of million-plus metropolitan areas without a major regional theater. That's affected the livelihoods of dozens of stage artists, reduced the talent pool, and kept the area theater scene from growing as it might have.

"It scared a lot of people," said Hope Johnston, a grants coordinator for ArtsTeach who's writing a master's thesis on Charlotte Rep's stormy 29-year history. "I think people were afraid to push the envelope (after `Angels'), and they were afraid for a long time."

But Johnston and other Charlotte creatives say they've felt a cultural shift in the past few years. Lately, Johnston says, actors in the Rep saga have been more willing to talk about it.

She thinks they'll be ready to laugh at Coble's play on opening night.

"To be able to be in on the ground floor of something -- that's exciting," said Dan Shoemaker, executive artistic director of Actor's Theatre of Charlotte. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get some national attention."

The good kind, that is.

Coble hopes his play, whatever it turns out to be, will have a life outside the Queen City.

"I think the story is bigger than Charlotte," the playwright says. "And it's an ongoing story. Everyone I talk to universally agrees that this is a good idea for a play."

Were you there?

If you have reflections on the "Angels in America" controversy for playwright Eric Coble, contact him via Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, 704-342-2251; or by e-mail to actorstheatre@bellsouth.net.

Protesters march along North Tryon Street in front of the Performing Arts Center on opening night of "Angels" on March 20, 1996. A last-minute court order secured the show's run, but the controversy was far from over.

Where are they now?

Some of the actors in the "Angels" controversy, and their current roles:

• Tom Bush, who chaired the Mecklenburg County board in 1996, is out of politics but still a practicing Charlotte attorney. He's expressed regret over the "Angels" fallout.

• Bill James, another member of the so-called "Gang of Five" who killed arts funding in 1997, is still a Mecklenburg County commissioner.

• Steve Umberger was artistic director of Charlotte Rep 1976-1984, and again 1991-2002. Like many artists after the Rep's demise in 2005, Umberger had to leave Charlotte to continue his career; he's worked at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, among others.

• Keith Martin was Charlotte Rep's managing director 1990-2002; he now manages the Richmond (Va.) Ballet.

• Alan Poindexter played Pryor, a gay character in "Angels," who appeared nude on stage. Poindexter is artistic director of Children's Theatre of Charlotte and played the Wicked Witch in "The Wizard of Oz."

Eric Coble

A playwright and screenwriter, Coble is a recent alumnus (with "Natural Selection") of the prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky., and a member of the Playwrights' Unit of the Cleveland Play House. His latest work, a romantic comedy called "For Better," is playing this season on professional stages in Miami, Denver and New Orleans.