My overall impression
As Playwright and Co-Director of “Flyover State”, Sarah Tither-Kaplan has crafted a well written and poignant play. That is not to say it is morose. Albeit there are some achingly painful moments, it is filled with witty, wry, self-deprecating, and often pointed humor. The writing is tight, so often with first run plays, they can easily lose a couple of pages of dialogue, but “Flyover State” is deftly and tightly done. The acting is of such depth, creativity, and commitment that it was often a revelation. Sarah’s character, Alice, is transformational.
The other Co-Director, Keith Boos, plays a very interesting character, Clete. Clete at first comes off as a right wing wacko military veteran, but as the play progresses we appreciate his Will Rogers sort of observations and we begin to see what he so desperately tries to keep hidden. Mr. Boos character and accent were wonderfully multifaceted and layered. I do, however, wonder if anyone else thought of putting cornrows in his belly hair, as I did?
Anyway, all of these characters are trying to hide something, and all of them are deftly played by the rest of the cast: Tyler White as Schuyler; Kevin Graber as James; Effie Antigone as Maggie; and Serena Anis as Candy Hershey (who was a real hoot, and adds a wonderfully surreal and insane break in the tension). As the secrets begin to be revealed everything could go to hell, and one wonders if it will. The story at first seems to show us a group of people joined together by their shared traumas. Yet, often shared traumas only feed despair and relationships break apart. What we find here under a reeking garbage heap of empty beer cans and liquor bottles, is a deep flowing river of affection and love between most of these characters. For amidst all the poison and vile behavior they have had to endure, they still have the ability to love one another. They just need to learn to love themselves.
I suppose the great revelation will be a surprise to some, but as I have seen my friends and relatives go through just these same situations, I was rather expecting it. Yet, this did not dampen my enjoyment of the performance one iota. It just proved to me that in the best expressions of Art one finds Truth.
Highly Recommended, but get there early, or you may not get a seat.
