Conceived and created by Filipina-American Angeline Gragasin and directed by Richard Newman, Angelus Novus is an ultra-contemporary production inspired by the combined traditions of medieval pageantry and American historical re-enactments, as well as consumer culture, North Korea, Commedia dell'Arte, and the Internet. The play's concept is based on Paul Klee's 1920 painting "Angelus Novus" and the related writings of German philosopher Walter Benjamin. Channeling cable television through clown and dance, circus and spectacle, karaoke and commercials, Angelus Novus uses athletic physicality, original live and electronic music, architectural costume, and large object acrobatics to depict power struggle, truth-telling, and social activism in an ailing urban community.