Take Flight

Synopsis

Take Flight weaves together fact and fiction to tell the 'funny, moving and inspirational' stories of the pioneers of flight - the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.

Our Review:

26 July 2007

Take “flight,” for instance, says the incredulous inventor and mathematician Otto Lillienthal (Clive Carter) at the top of this intriguingly ambitious new musical; it’s just another stupid way of trying to prove yourself a hero, like the man scoffing hot dogs or the other one standing on a single leg for days on end.

The air show by the American team of librettist John Weidman, composer David Shire and lyricist Richard Maltby Jr is through-sung, a contrapuntal sub-Sondheim style examination of three stories of aviation pioneers: the Wright Brothers trying to get airborne with kites and gliders on a fly-blown North Carolina beach; Charles Lindbergh obsessing in Minnesota about a solo flight to Europe; and Amelia Earhart trying to outdo him and strike a deal with an escape clause from her publisher husband, George Putnam.

It’s hard not to conclude, though, that the machine stutters on the run-way and has trouble achieving theatrical lift-off. The musical and narrati...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 13 September 2007:

There are problems with the structure of this show and it takes a long while to feel comfortable with three stories interwoven and not chronological, but there is much to enjoy here. It is better in the comic scenes than the serious ones, which seem a touch sentimental and occasionally earnest and the second half is a lot better than the first - probably because it's shorter and punchier. The staging is simple but effective. There are some terrific performances, not just from the predictably excellent Sally Ann Triplett and Michael Jibson, but from the whole ensemble. Not an unqualified success but a lot better than West End 'product' like Wicked and well worth a visit....

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