When Angels in America premiered in 1990, it quickly became a catalytic theatrical event. Newsweek called it “The most ambitious American play of our time.”

Its scope was huge, covering the AIDS epidemic, America’s shift to the political right, as well as grand themes of faith, loss, and identity. But at the same time it was heart-breakingly intimate, with indelible characters—gay and straight, Mormon and Jewish, famous and forgotten.

Now, 20 years after its debut, North Carolina Stage Company finished its ninth season with a production of this masterpiece, which ran October 13 through November 7. Angels in America was coproduced with Posana Café and the Western North Carolina AIDS Project.

NC Stage cofounders Charlie and Angie Flynn-McIver have wanted to produce the play for years. Its intimate scenes, they explain, are well-suited to the theatre’s space and its theatricality is an exciting challenge. The theatre has always focused on language and story over spectacle.

NC Stage Company is still something of a hidden gem, tucked away at the end of an alley in the heart of downtown Asheville. This small theatre produces sophisticated, thought- provoking plays you’d expect in a city like Atlanta, Chicago, or New York, but with almost entirely local talent.

For more information about The North Carolina Stage Company, call 828.239.0263 or visit ncstage.org.