Flight

Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage · May 19 – June 16, 2018

The production

Breathtakingly beautiful

One of the most breathtakingly beautiful shows the Playhouse has ever done.

— Madison Mooney, Executive Director · Long Beach Playhouse

The story

A history retold

This play’s talented, all-black cast deserves kudos for re-creating this tragic period in our nation’s history… Don’t miss it!

— Chris Carpenter, The Grunion · 2018

The experience

It shakes something loose

Dance, fog and haze, pulsing light effects, live drumming and singing make Flight an experience that shakes up something inside the viewers.

— Signal Tribune · 2018

About the Production

Written by Charlayne Woodard and drawn from American slave narratives and African folk traditions, Flight unfolds on a Georgia plantation in 1858. A young boy hides in a tree after watching his mother be sold away, and it takes 90 minutes of communal storytelling, song, and dance to convince him to come down. An unexpectedly celebratory and spiritually rich work about resilience and the power of story.

"One of the most breathtakingly beautiful shows the Playhouse has ever done was in 2018, when Rovin directed Charlayne Woodard's play Flight. It was set on a plantation and spoke to the cruelty of family separation... Rovin makes the story haunting, truthful, and memorable."
— Madison Mooney, Executive Director, Long Beach Playhouse · BroadwayWorld · 2025

"This play's talented, all-black cast deserves kudos for re-creating this tragic period in our nation's history... Don't miss it!"
— Chris Carpenter, The Grunion · June 7, 2018

Read Full Review — The Grunion →

"Directed by Rovin Jay at Long Beach Playhouse, Flight does not rely solely on storytelling, mythology and good acting... The production applies dance, fog and haze, pulsing light effects, live drumming and singing to make Flight an experience that shakes up something inside the viewers."
— Signal Tribune · May 29, 2018

Read Full Review — Signal Tribune →