Tony Kushner Quotes

A collection of quotes by Tony Kushner.

Tony Kushner is an acclaimed American playwright and screenwriter, widely recognized for his monumental work, "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes." Born on July 16, 1956, in New York City, Kushner began his writing career in the early 1980s. After attending Columbia University and New York University, he developed an interest in socially and politically charged themes, often exploring topics like AIDS, homosexuality, religion, and American politics in his plays.

Kushner's most notable work, "Angels in America," premiered in 1991 and earned widespread critical acclaim, winning numerous awards, including the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The epic play, divided into two parts, "Millennium Approaches" and "Perestroika," tackles the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic on the LGBTQ+ community while examining broader themes of identity, love, and redemption.

Apart from his accomplishments in the theater, Kushner has also ventured into screenwriting. He adapted "Angels in America" into an Emmy-winning miniseries for HBO in 2003. Additionally, he collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on the critically acclaimed film "Lincoln" (2012), for which Kushner received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Throughout his career, Tony Kushner has been a prominent voice in American theater, known for his powerful storytelling, vivid characters, and thought-provoking exploration of social and political issues. With his works addressing timeless themes and resonating with audiences worldwide, Kushner's impact on the dramatic arts is indelible.

You don't go to the movies to do historical research, unless

You don't go to the movies to do historical research, unless it's historical research about the movies.

I feel there's a power in theatre, but it's an indirect powe

I feel there's a power in theatre, but it's an indirect power. It's like the relationship of the sleeper to the unconscious. You discover things you can't afford to countenance in waking life. You can forget them, remember them a day later or not have any idea what they are about.

I don't feel, finally, that my politics are entirely determi

I don't feel, finally, that my politics are entirely determined by the fact that I'm a gay man.

The general consensus among historians, among the ones who c

The general consensus among historians, among the ones who can handle the fact that 'Lincoln' is, in fact, historical fiction, is that we demonstrate enormous fidelity to history and that, beyond that, we've actually contributed a line of thinking about Lincoln's presidency that's somewhat original.

There's a kind of a fundamental irresponsibility in playwrit

There's a kind of a fundamental irresponsibility in playwriting, and the strength of playwriting comes from that irresponsibility.

Who knows better than artists how much ugliness there is on

Who knows better than artists how much ugliness there is on the way to beauty, how many ghastly, mortifying missteps, how many days of granitic blockheadedness and dismaying ineptitude there is on the way to accomplishment, how partial all accomplishment is, how incomplete?

Gay writers now have both a sense of history and the fables

Gay writers now have both a sense of history and the fables that allows them to dwell in the realms of the ridiculous and at the same time talk seriously about things.

The kind of theater that I do is sort of 'narrative realism,

The kind of theater that I do is sort of 'narrative realism,' which I think in the broadest sense is legitimate to say is mainstream. I mean, in a certain sense, Suzan-Lori's plays have had mainstream levels of success. But Suzan-Lori is in some ways not a narrative realist.

If you know that life is basically going to be horrendously

If you know that life is basically going to be horrendously difficult, at best, and all but unlivable at worst, or possibly even unlivable, do you go on? And the choice to go on is the only thing that I think can be called hope. Because if hope isn't forced to encounter the worst possibility, then it's a lie.

In a way, film and television are in the same sort of trauma

In a way, film and television are in the same sort of traumatic trance that print journalism is. The technology has outpaced our comprehension of its implications.

Making movies is a very different experience in a lot of way

Making movies is a very different experience in a lot of ways. It's difficult when you're used to owning the copyright and having a landlord's possessory rights - I rent my plays to the companies that do them and, if I'm upset, I can pull the play. But the only two directors I've worked with are pretty great.

I'm not surfing much anymore, but I love hiking and gardenin

I'm not surfing much anymore, but I love hiking and gardening, and I'm always wearing a hat and sunblock.

I'm happy that I feel a little less out of place in filmmaki

I'm happy that I feel a little less out of place in filmmaking than I once was - but it's almost impossible for a playwright in the U.S. to make a living. You can have a play, like I did with 'Angels,' and it still generates income for me, but it's not enough for me to live on and have health insurance.

People shouldn't trust artists and they shouldn't trust art.

People shouldn't trust artists and they shouldn't trust art. Part of the fun of art is that it invites you to interpret it.

Accuracy is paramount in every detail of a work of history.

Accuracy is paramount in every detail of a work of history. Here's my rule: Ask yourself, 'Did this thing happen?' If the answer is yes, then it's historical. Then ask, 'Did this thing happen precisely this way?' If the answer is yes, then it's history if the answer is no, not precisely this way, then it's historical drama.

You have to have hope. It's irresponsible to give false hope

You have to have hope. It's irresponsible to give false hope, which I think a lot of playwrights are guilty of. But I also think it's irresponsible to simply be a nihilist, which quite a lot of playwrights, especially playwrights younger than me, have become guilty of.

You have a strange relationship with calamity when you're a

You have a strange relationship with calamity when you're a writer: you write about it as an artist, you objectify and fetishize it. You render life into material, and that's a creepy thing to do.

Artists know that diligence counts as much, if not more, as

Artists know that diligence counts as much, if not more, as inspiration in art, as in politics, patience counts as much as revolution.

The way that same-sex marriage should reach the federal leve

The way that same-sex marriage should reach the federal level is that it absolutely should be decided by the Supreme Court as quickly as possible. It's a 14th Amendment issue. There's no argument about it.

I find writing very difficult. It's hard and it hurts someti

I find writing very difficult. It's hard and it hurts sometimes, and it's scary because of the fear of failure and the very unpleasant feeling that you may have reached the limit of your abilities.