In September, the U.S. State Department approved funding to the Association For Affirmation Of Theatre Presvrt Skopje for the production of Tony Kushner’s two-part play “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes in North Macedonia.” The play “Angels in America” had its Broadway debut on May 4, 1993.
According to federal grant records, the department’s plan also includes “conducting open talks to raise awareness about HIV stigma and LGBTQ+ issues” in the Eastern European country. The department is obligated to spend $20,000 on staging the play and has directed $10,500 in non-federal funding toward the production, resulting in a total funding of $30,500.
The play is set in 1980s New York City during the AIDS pandemic and follows an assortment of characters, one of whom, named Prior Walter, has contracted the disease. Throughout his illness, he receives support from Belize, a hospital nurse and former drag queen.
Prior begins to experience intense visions as his health worsens, and he later receives a visit from an angel. Angels are presented as hermaphroditic beings who have “eight vaginas” and “a Bouquet of Phallī.”
Analysts of the play have noted that it appears critical of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Kushner references the Reagan administration throughout the play, and one of the characters, Roy Cohn, is based on a real person.
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In Kushner’s play, the character of Cohn is hiding his homosexuality and believes the fact that he is dying of AIDS will ruin his reputation. During his final days of life, Cohn is haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg, who blames him for her death.
The funding of Kushner’s play is not the first time that the State Department has spent money on theatrical productions in North Macedonia.
According to records, the State Department spent over $19,000 in a grant to Michigan State University to use theatre and dance to teach community members in North Macedonia about environmental issues and how to “create meaningful change.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Earlier this year, the nonpartisan Center to Advance Security in America filed a lawsuit against the State Department to gain answers about LGBT activist Jessica Stern’s $180,000 salary.
Stern serves as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons. The group filed the lawsuit after failing to receive a response to two FOIA requests it submitted in March.
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According to public records cited by Open Payrolls, Stern had a reported pay of $183,100 in 2022, 137.4% higher than the average pay for federal agency employees and 155.2% higher than the national average for government employees.
The White House told CNN in 2021 that the purpose of a special envoy is to help implement the “Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World.”
“At a time when the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons are increasingly threatened in all regions of the world, the Special Envoy will bring together like-minded governments, civil society organizations, corporations and international organizations to uphold dignity and equality for all,” the White House stated at the time, as reported by CNN.
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