Pack a bag full of whimsey and climb aboard Bonnie’s Last Flight. This imaginative new play by the prolific Eliza Bent is taking off at Next Door at NYTW. Your experience of the extended metaphor begins as soon as you receive your confirmation from the theater. First class passengers are allowed to enter first and receive pre-performance wine and snacks. (Though bibs on the back designate them as First Class, Comfort Plus or Economy, all the chairs are the same and there are no bad seats in the house.) Upon entering, you are immersed in a representation of a cabin surrounded by oval windows and Virgin inspired overhead lighting. Leg room is generous, though there is a limit of one carry-on per person.
Despite the title, the head of your crew is Jan. Thirty-one years ago during the rise of feminism, the then sexually naive teen found herself pregnant and alone. She chose to carry the child to term. Though she gave her daughter up for adoption, the chapter derailed her lifelong ambition to become a writer. Taking a job as a “waitress of the skies” she continues to jot down ideas between trips down the aisle to serve brownies. Her inspiration is a manic Mark Twain who is almost always by her side. Recently accepted into a renowned Chicago based writing program, she’s finally hanging up her wings to follow her abandoned dream.
Jan’s story is one of many we learn during our fictional flight to Chicago and it is by far the most linear. The remainder of Ms. Bent’s script includes several personal episodes told by the rest of the crew as if glimpsed through cloud cover. Jan’s counterpart is the well-meaning, high-energy and somewhat dimwitted LeeAnne who is also struggling to course-correct her life. Rounding out the cabin team is Jan’s devoted longtime colleague Greig, moved by items he finds left in seat back pockets and under seats. Up in the cockpit is Tony, whose obviously lack of fitness to fly is one of the play’s plot holes. His calling his co-pilot Erik “Jesus” is a running joke. The troupe also portray other characters from the past. To reveal more about the titular Bonnie would be a small spoiler, but she too is on board.
Ceci Fernandez in Bonnie’s Last Flight. Photo by Shun Takino.
In the elegant and graceful body of Barbara Walsh, Jan is a marvelous character, surprisingly well rounded and deeply sympathetic given the short amount of time we get to spend with her. Greig Sargeant’s Greig isn’t given as much depth, but he acts as a sweet partner and balances Ceci Fernandez’s frantic and funny LeeAnne. While those three are tonally in sync, the others seem to have stumbled in from a much more farcical piece. The cockpit duo played by Sam Breslin Wright and Federico Rodriguez veers firmly into stock character territory. Playwright Eliza Bent’s own clown-like Twain nearly pulls the piece over the slapstick edge, though this is apparently integral to her vision for the work.
Director Annie Tippe cleverly choreographs the motion using the confined space defined by airplane body, aisles and jump-seats. A good portion of the runtime is devoted to skits and business including clips of inflight movies. This necessitates looking from side to side like a tennis match and occasionally completely turning around to see a curtained area behind you. A few times, an unwitting “passenger” is included in the action. Scenic design by Meredith Ries and costumes by Heather McDevitt Barton make the best of a small budget. Small overhead monitors expand the performance space and creative wigs and accessories make for quick changes. The live action is supplemented by videos by David Pym and sound by John Gasper, which in previews had some technical glitches. (For anyone who has tried to use Go-Go inflight wireless, this is not out of step with the rest of the gag.)
With tickets starting at $25, Bonnie’s Last Flight is a pleasant diversion, delivering some great fun and mild food for thought. Can we lose our emotional baggage as easily as a major carrier sends the suitcase clearly marked for Rome to its hub in Abu Dhabi? It is playing through March 2 as part of Next Door at NYTW, 83 4th Street near 2nd Avenue. Tickets are available online at NYTW.org, by phone at 212-460-5475, or in-person at the NYTW Box Office. Be warned that similar to a real flight, it will be impossible to leave before reaching the final destination.
The Price of Thomas Scott
Long before there was Reverend Moore in Footloose, there was dance adversary and forceful chapel congregant Thomas Scott. Scott has been offered a small fortune for his declining neighborhood textile business. The problem? The new owners would turn the desirable corner location into a dance hall: a devil’s playground as far as Scott is concerned. A righteous Protestant Nonconformist, he must now weigh his family’s future against his steadfast convictions.
Despite being written in 1913 by rising star Elizabeth Baker, The Price of Thomas Scott is brimming with modern dilemmas. Class still dictates potential opportunity for education and career. Our highly divided social climate is filled with the voices of strong convictions that have soured into prejudice. Many become even more entrenched in the familiar and pass judgement on those who are open to differing opinion. Yet as time moves forward, the seemingly outrageous and unusual can find more acceptance.
Scott’s family in question includes his far-sighted and talented daughter Annie (a radiant Emma Geer), whose creativity is stifled by her tasteless clientele. Her brilliant brother Leonard (Nick LaMedica who does his best to come across as a teenager) has the potential to become upwardly mobile. Their mother Ellen (an underutilized Tracy Sallows) longs to retire with her husband to Tunbridge Wells where they first met. While Scott himself (a crackling Donald Corren) has built his life around his chapel and now seems driven to protect everyone’s prospects for entrance to heaven. Temptation is provided in the form of Wicksteed (a polished and eloquent Mitch Greenberg) a former friend now employed by the successful Courney Company. The story is made richer by the Scott’s friends and neighbors played by Andrew Fallaize, Josh Goulding, Jay Russell, Mark Kenneth Smaltz, Ayana Workman and Arielle Yoder.
Tracy Sallows, Donald Corren and Emma Geer. Photo by Todd Cerveris.
Director Jonathan Bank is constrained in his approach, relying heavily on Tracy Bersley’s choreography to pick up the momentum. All the action takes place in the back parlor of the Scott’s shop, represented by the perfectly rundown set created by Vicki R. Davis. The charming mostly muted costumes by Hunter Kaczorowski tell the story of period and class in pre-WWI England. The hats on display illustrate the gap between Annie’s instinct for style and her clients’ misguided requests. Shifts in the lighting by Christian Deangelis and music and sound by Jane Shaw help set mood and pace.
All are in service to the clever and often humorous words of Ms. Baker. Growing up in a household similar to that of the Scotts, she took in her first play at the age of 30. In short order she had transformed from an obscure stenographer to recognized playwright. At first you may need to navigate the various accents and a few older expressions, but then the flow is established and the characters come into focus. However, the ending will feel extremely abrupt to a modern audience. (Those around me failed to clap for a full 30 seconds, though they appeared stunned more than unhappy with the performance.) The production team seems to have recognized Baker’s departure from what has become an acceptable character arc and tacked on a post-curtain call “coda” to better manage expectation. Your reading of the Artistic Director’s statement and dramaturgical notes will help you better appreciate the work.
The Price of Thomas Scott poses some deep questions through pleasant voices. It is Mint Theater’s latest project in support of giving new life to neglected women playwrights. Runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission. It is playing through March 23 at the Beckett Theatre in Theatre Row. Full priced tickets are $65, though there are several discount options including $32 day-of Rush. For more information and to purchase seats visit http://minttheater.org/current-production/