“Go West Young Man,” exhorted Horace Greeley in the mid- 1800s. Thousands did just that, seeking fortune and freedom among the wide open spaces. After the Civil War, many migrated to escape the past — of families destroyed by war and loss and debt. The Black migration experience westward was encouraged by the creation of all-Black communities and the hope they represented for a new world.
Pearl Cleage’s play Flyin’ West is set in 1898 Nicodemus, Kansas, a place set aside for Black homesteaders. Thousands of Blacks used the opportunity to move west to escape the violent racism of the south, to find new hope and opportunity in towns they built for themselves. With that in mind, three sisters find their way out west to forge a new future for themselves.
Sisters Sophie (Lakesha Lorene), and Fannie (L’Oreal Lampley) anxiously await the arrival of their sister Minne (Kayla Mary Jane) and her man Frank Charles (Allen Tedder) from London. Fannie is sweet on local man Wil Parish (Enoch King), and neighbor Miss Leah (Dwandra Nickole Lampkin)makes note of how they complement each other. When Frank and Minnie arrive at the homestead, it is clear that Frank, a “mulatto” born of an enslaved woman and her enslaver, thinks himself superior to Minnie and her sisters, who are proudly Black. Frank also reveals that he thinks little of the Black town. Frank reveals himself as a domestic abuser and racist, pushing Minnie around, as Sophie and Fannie become more concerned about the safety of their sister. The climax comes when Frank is notified that his biological father has made no provision for him after his death, and he is on his own. Enraged that his dreams of an easy life in London and Paris have been taken from him, Frank takes Minnie’s deed for a part of the land the sisters share and seeks to sell it to white developers, and beats her unconscious when she objects. Miss Leah, Sophie and Fannie discover her on the floor, and the ladies seek justice on their own terms.
A meditation on freedom and independence, the IRT’s production of Flyin’ West portrays a part of American history that has been overlooked for far too long. The Black experience post-Civil War is one fraught with hope — and hopes cruelly dashed by violence. The bridge between freedom and the harsh memories of enslavement, embodied in the memories of Miss Leah, contrast with the here-and-now threats of white development in what the Dove sisters hope will be a thriving Black community in the near future.
Scenic designer Junghyun Georgia Lee deserves applause for the clever rotating stage that conceals and reveals at the same time, with a sweeping backdrop that gives the impression of vast distances.
Flyin’ West continues through Feb. 4. Tickets are available online at irtlive.com or by calling 317-635-5252.
