Casey Turner as the Angel in “Angels in America: Part Two.” Photo by James A. Hadley

Casey Turner, who last May played the angel in “Angels in America Part One: Millenium Approaches” at Portland Stage, was certainly not left suspended in the theater rafters awaiting the just-opened production of “Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika.” But she is back in the winged role, this time to hover a little closer to the earthbound characters.

Portland Stage is hosting the Dramatic Repertory Company production of Part Two, which is co-directed, as was Part One, by local stalwarts Keith Powell Beyland, artistic director of Dramatic Rep, and Peter Brown, artistic director of The Fenix Theatre Company.

As with Part One, the final installment of Tony Kushner’s 30-year-old epic creation runs to three hours and 15 minutes (including two intermissions). Full of intense drama, with respites in comedy, the story of the early days of the AIDS crisis in America offers a theatrical endurance test for all concerned. But this spectacular production is well worth the effort it takes to revisit these characters (all actors from Part One returning), especially with its hints of hope in the air.

Amid a surfeit of heartfelt bickering, the trials and tribulations of relationships are further tested by the impact in the 1980s of a frightening new ailment that society, due to ignorance and prejudice, was slow to recognize and address. Stark narratives begun in Part One are deepened and brought to at least tentative conclusion in Part Two. Spirituality plays an increasing role as does the harsh reality of limited treatment options with only nascent signs of progress.

Nate Stephenson as Louis, Joseph Bearor as Joseph and Paul Haley as Roy in “Angels in America: Part Two” at Portland Stage. Photo by James A. Hadley

The on-again-off-again romance between the seriously afflicted Prior (Robbie Harrison), deemed a prophet by the Angel after he hilariously senses her power, and his egghead, Jewish lover Louis (Nate Stephenson) continues to be confounded by the latter’s attraction to the married Joseph (Joseph Bearor), whose wife Harper (Michela Micalizio) anxiously resists losing him. Joseph’s Morman mother Hannah (Denise Poirier in this and other roles) gets her two cents in and then some.

Meanwhile, the bedridden Roy Cohn (Paul Haley) suffers mightily from AIDS with nurse Belize (Ashanti Dwight Williams) reluctantly at the vociferous and unrepentant bigot’s side. The devious but somehow charismatic Cohn scores a stash of the still rare treatment drug AZT as the ghost of Ethel Rosenburg, whom he had a hand in prosecuting years before, visits.

The always likeable Turner adds to other roles when not rather lengthily proclaiming the way things are between heaven and earth. Harrison whines sympathetically as Prior. Stephenson and Bearor manifest extremes of ambivalence. Perhaps because their characters have a steadier grip on who they are, Williams, Haley and Micalizio’s comedic asides offer very welcome relief, with appropriate dashes of poignancy. But all performances were excellent at the matinee under review.

Overlapping scenes work well within the quick-changing, multi-level set designed by Anita Stewart. Humorous scenes in a courthouse office and on the plains as settlers move west are especially enjoyable, as are metaphoric journeys suggested as a way out of a difficult time. It’s all well captured in what is, in combination with Part One, a hugely impressive production of an essential American work.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.