Preconceptions about adult subjects and strong language will keep some theatergoers from Theater in the Park's impressive production of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Angels in America." That's a pity, as it demonstrates what theater does best: provokes debate, challenges assumptions and seeks truth.

Trying to describe this two-part, two-evening work brings to mind the fable of the blind men and the elephant -- each one finds something different. "Angels" is love story, diatribe on politics, plea for understanding of religious and sexual differences, exploration of race relations, paean to immigrant ancestors, and global overview of life's meaning. Frank language and explicit content are balanced with beautifully crafted poetry and touching emotional revelations. Kushner also finds an astonishing amount of humor in these serious realms.

"Millennium Approaches" (Part I) and "Perestroika" (Part II) follow three intertwining stories in mid-1980s New York City. Louis, guilt-laden, gay and Jewish, comes undone when his lover Prior is diagnosed with AIDS. A Mormon couple, Joe and his pill-popping wife Harper, each wrestle with their private demons. Joe works for and admires infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, who faces past misdeeds and present mortality, attended by African-American male nurse and former drag queen Belize. Also in the mix are Joe's mother, Hannah, and the Angel, who appears to Prior in his illness-induced hallucinations. How these characters confront their fears and hardships strikes deeply universal chords.

Adam Twiss made last Friday's premiere of Part I and this week's dress rehearsal of Part II soar with his experienced, sensitive direction. He knits together humor, pathos and dream world, giving both of the play's 3-1/2-hour parts unflagging vitality. Stephen J. Larson's appropriately eclectic settings and dramatically atmospheric lighting help differentiate real world from apparitional, as do Will Mikes' effective sound design and Shawn Stewart-Larson's inventive costumes.

Three veteran actors anchor the proceedings. Eric Carl's Prior can brazenly fling a catty remark, then crumble in a heap of self-pity and still keep the character sympathetic. Kenny Gannon takes on Cohn with frightening gusto, making him evil incarnate, while movingly revealing the lost soul underneath. Lynda Clark turns in one of her finest performances, mysteriously mesmerizing as the Angel, funny and heartbreaking as a handful of other characters.

Andrea Schulz Twiss downplays Harper's unhinged excesses, making her delusions scary in their realism. Amy Flynn gives Hannah no-nonsense primness and Ethel Rosenberg's ghost sly superiority. Steven Rausch's Belize, Matthew-Jason Willis' Louis and Jesse R. Gephart's Joe expose their characters' foibles with complete commitment, although each misses some of the depths his role implies.

TIP deserves high praise for being first in the Triangle to stage both parts of "Angels in America," a bold step for a company mostly noted for family fare. If you can see only one play, make it Part II. Kushner cleverly injects it with enough background from Part I to stand on its own. Its message of hope is more necessary than ever.