Review: WHEN LAST WE FLEW Falls Flat at Out Front Theatre

Imagine, if you will, a small theatre tucked away in midtown Atlanta. Affordable valet parking attendants cheerfully whisk your car away as you climb stone steps up to a lively and stylish dining area. You enter through doors and metal grates to see a parade of pride flags swinging proudly up and down a long hallway. Welcome to Out Front Theatre.

On your right, you'll find concessions, complete with a signature drink to accompany the show. Down the hall are un-gendered restrooms open to whoever needs them, and on the far left is the playing area. A small proscenium stage with arena seating and dark blue accents that create an intimate atmosphere.

I immediately loved this theatre and everything they stand for. I felt seen and warmly welcomed walking through the space. Unfortunately, however, I did not love this show.

WHEN WE LAST FLEW is a play about a young man named Paul whose inner life is radically transformed after reading ANGELS IN AMERICA by Tony Kushner. A series of bad decisions seemed to have gone into producing this play as performances fell flat, technical elements clashed, and the material itself provided little that I loved.

As a former actor, I found all of the performances varying levels of indulgent. I was thrilled to see an Intimacy Director had been included in the production of this show but was disappointed to see the intimacy itself in the show felt forced.

Dalyla McGee played a stunning amount of roles from mother to teacher to principal to electrician and more. Her excitement and passion were palpable, and I enjoyed her energy. There were moments where I felt as if she'd been stretched a bit too thin, without a specific focus, and there were moments where the degrees of similarity within all her discrete performances became blurry.

A.J. Thomson as Paul enjoyed a flamboyantly indulgent performance. The "main character," energy was at times overwhelming and Paul's selfishness more often than not took center stage in such a way that I had a difficult time connecting with him. Thomson's physicality was fantastic to watch, but he seemed to lack a deeper throughline motivating him.

Jasmine Thomas played Marian, Paul's boot-bound mother. Spending most of her time limping around the stage in a boot, Marian grappled with her recent and unexplained separation as well as her son's budding isolation. Thomas felt the most focused at the beginning of the show, but as she navigated Marian's emotional life, there were times she felt like a kettle whistling without water in it.

A separate thread from Paul's, although the two quickly clash, Natalie is almost a second main character, played by Ebony Jerry. Jerry's spitfire attitude was endearing immediately. I loved the vibrancy of Jerry's interpretation, but instead of getting to see Natalie grow into her badassery, she started on a high that could not be sustained. It was disheartening to watch Jerry lose steam.

I could not help but feel sorry for Lu Vijil as Ian. Ian is Paul's best friend and often has his heart pulled and pushed at Paul's whim. Vijil created such a delicate, soft, and emotional Ian that moments outside of tender intimacy read as discomfort. Vijil's crafted sense of connection felt strained as Ian and Paul became physically intimate.

Evan Hill Phillips brought a grounding, mellow, and at times even imposing presence as Fresh. At times, Philips was so chill he was completely unreadable. It served Phillips well as he played Paul's father but created a barrier between him and me as he played Natalie's love interest, Fresh. Unfortunately, there were moments when Phillip's youth pulled me out of the action.

One of my biggest issues with this show was the choice to double-cast the father figure and the high school love interest as the same actor. I understand the need for a smaller cast, but doubling between an adult and a child, both of whom interact separately with the same characters, can create some uncomfortably gray areas of consent.

As a former technician, I felt frustrated by the lack of attention to detail in some of the technical elements. With only one detailed part of the set, most of the playing space stayed empty to serve the needs of the script. I enjoyed the liminal feeling of the set.

However, the empty space was not used wisely nor consistent with its rules. Holes in roofs changed places, people walked through walls, and stairs magically formed around building sides. Closer attention to detail and more strict boundaries could have helped with some of the confusion I felt during magical moments of walking through walls.

Effects intended to be dramatic, such as fog and a spinning platform, felt instead overdramatic. Like over-exaggerations of what was happening on stage rather than support to what was happening on stage. I could see the thought behind the action, but unfortunately, it did not resonate with me.

Most of the confusion stems, I think, from the material's repeated comparisons to Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA. Were it not so frequently mentioned in the play's material it might not be so jarring. Kushner earned his page-long monologues; Harrison David Rivers did not.

As a playwright, I find it frustrating to see re-iterations of a story already told being told again. I take no issue with drawing inspiration from the greats, indeed that's where we most often get it, but I do not believe we should copy them. I want Theatre as a collective to see and create new art.

On the other side of every mistake, is a triumph. And I have no doubt that Out Front Theatre will find success as they continue to take risks, make space for new voices, and bravely step out to the front unafraid to say, "here I am."

Make no mistake, I love Out Front Theatre. I will be watching their seasons closely, eager to see what risks they take next.

Photo credit Tyler Ogburn

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