“Fly” at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Cincinnati, OH) Reviewed by Rafael de Acha, Theatre Reviews Limited “Fly” at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Cincinnati, OH)Fly takes off, soars and flies Even fifty-three years ago, when I first came to this country, the sight of men and women, African-Americans and Latinos and Whites working together in the same branch of the military would have been rare. Were it not for the revelatory work of the playwriting team of Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan, authors of the impressive play FLY, now on stage at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, their vicissitudes and eventual triumphs in the days of segregated US Armed Forces of WWII would continue to be as ignored as it was five decades ago. FLY’s cast is led by the protean dancer-choreographer-actor-musician Omar Edwards, who portrays the role of the Tap Griot using his feet as a tool to speak the language at the heart of the play. As he acts the role of a silent poet-seer-leader-guru-non-verbal raconteur, he taps anger, frustration, hope, elation, derision joy, sorrow. At one point in the play, his whole being utters a primal cry of silent despair. The moment is riveting and reinvigorates one’s faith in the power and potency of theatre. So does this entire production. Greg Brostrom, Eddie R. Brown, Will Cobbs, Cay Donaldson, David Pegram, Timothy Sekk and Terrell Donnell Sledge make their Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park debuts in this play. All are very fine, versatile actors. Pegram (Chet Simpkins) turns on a dime in virtuoso fashion as he transforms from elderly WWII veteran survivor into the youngest of the recruits and back. Sledge (J. Allen), is hilarious as a wide-eyed West Indian, and later moving as the first reject from pilot training. Brown (W.W.) lets down his defenses as he journeys from cool cat to wounded war hero with artistry that’s pure gold. Cobbs (Oscar) is tightly-coiled anger, sharp wit, damaged goods and sorely missed when mortally wounded. All four actors are heart-breaking, hilarious and insanely talented. Playwright Khan, whose directorial work is sterling as his writing, takes charge with endless imagination. Assisted by choreographer Hope Clarke, Khan masterfully maneuvers his cast of eight around the thrust stage of the Playhouse’s Marx Theatre in a never-ending set of configurations. He directs the big scenes with bravura, changing locales from ground to air, from barracks to air battles, aided by simple props: chairs, trunks, some suitcases and inexhaustible inventiveness. He excels as well in the one-on-one hushed night-time exchanges among the men in the barracks when souls are bared. The veteran design team creates magic. Beowulf Boritt’s consistent and imaginative work I still remember from NYC. He is the creator of the evocative set. John Gromada’s sound design thrusts us up in the air most, if not all of the time, and then makes us want to run for cover in the air battle scenes. The costumes by Toni Leslie-James are right on target and the lighting by Rui Rita and Jake DeGroot lands us safely with perfect visibility when brilliance is needed, to then transport us to the shadowy back-streets of a little Alabama town at night. The projections by Clint Allen are memorable and magical. The ubiquitous Rocco del Vera coaches the multiple dialects that define the characters socially and geographically. Drew Fracher stages a thoroughly believable rough-and-tumble fight scene. On a recent trip to South Florida I stayed in a hotel not far from the Homestead Air Reserve Base. There were lots of pilots from the Reserve Command Tenth Air Force – young men and women in their twenties, dressed in fatigues. Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics. Their demeanor was courteous but reserved and serious, looks of concern in their faces. The winds of war were in the air last week. But it was their palpable comradeship that made their burden bearable: a bond that cut across racial, gender, religious and ethnic dividing lines. The heroic, pioneering, selfless, yeoman work of the Tuskegee Airmen more than 75 years ago paved the way for the heartwarming sight I caught a week ago in a Miami hotel. The lives and years of service of the Tuskegee men inspired this play, which in turn inspired us with hope for a society in which one’s race will not prevent anybody from taking off, soaring high and living their dreams. The show is a great flight and a smooth landing for Artistic Director Blake Robison in his second season. To have several living members of the Tuskegee Airmen in the opening night audience was memorable and filled the theatre with emotion that added to the energy generated by the play allowing us all for the space of an intermission-less hour and a half to take off, soar and fly. FLY is on stage at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park through October 5. See details at cincyplay Theatre Reviews Limited • 294 Varick Street, Suite 1, Jersey City, NJ 07302 E: theatrereviews@ceoexpress • P: 201.536.3558 • © 2012 All rights reserved
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 20:50:08 +0000
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