Let me add my voice to the others lauding "Fly", currently at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Just in terms of its format, there will be few in the audience who have seen anything like it before.
But it all begins with the story. Even those of us somewhat familiar with the Tuskeegee Airmen get caught up in this exposition. Four determined young men report to flight school in Alabama. The racism there at the Army Air Force camp is still knife-sharp to the ear even seventy years later when we hear it from actors. But they learn to fly fighter planes, and the unit is sent to Italy to escort bombers.
That format? A mostly-bare stage except for large, irregularly shaped screens as a backdrop, and some footlockers and chairs. A narrator called The Tap Griot, who taps a lot more than he talks, and is stunning, yea, dazzling, as played by Omar Edwards. And the video on the screens is used to excellent effect, particularly in the flying lesson scene.
The quartet of would-be pilots works well in ensemble, their characters well outlined. We see David Pegram at different ages of his life, from a kid in Harlem to an adult on the capital steps. Will Cobbs burns as a "race man" fervent in his belief in the potential of what would eventually be called African Americans. Terrrell Donnell Sledge carries his father's dream in the Bahamas with strength and (mostly) dignity. Eddie R. Brown III, the zoot-suited college graduate womanizer is the darkest character, something sussed out by Greg Brostrom, the extremely reluctant flight instructor. The sole quirk is that W. W., Brown's character, continues his hepcat gait in uniform in front of officers without reprimand – although not when marching.
But that can't be by accident; author Ricardo Khan is directing. The scenic designer, Beowulf Boritt, projection designer Clint Allen, co-lighting designers Rui Rita and Jake DeGroot and sound designer/composer John Gromada have all pitched in to make this a worthwhile experience. And deffinitely something for the coming generation to see.
Fly
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
through November 10
130 Edgar Rd., Webster Groves
314-968-4925