FLY Opens At Jefferson Performing Arts Center February 4

Jefferson Performing Arts Society will present FLY, written by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Kahn, a stage play about the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, on February 4-13, 2022, at Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Directed by New Orleans native and recipient of the 2020 Big Easy Lifetime Achievement in Theater Tommye Myrick, whose production of August Wilson's Fences at Le Petit Theatre won the 1992 Big Easy Entertainment Award for Best Drama and Best Director.

She would again win the Big Easy Best Director award for her direction of Flyin' West at Southern Rep Theatre. Formerly she has served as the Artistic Director of Southern University, Assistant Director of the Center for African and African American Studies, and the Executive Director of the New Orleans African American Museum.

FLY tells the story of the 332nd Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces which came to be known as the "Tuskegee Airmen." The play traces the experiences of four black servicemen, three Americans and one from the West Indies, as they train for battle against German aircrafts. Told through the eyes of one survivor as he attends the inauguration of President Barack Obama and using the 1940s military experience as a microcosm of race relations in America, the play illustrates how these men fought racism at home while battling fascism overseas, and how their successes led to greater equality in the armed forces, and ultimately, engendered the Civil Rights movement.

"America has much to learn from these voiceless brave souls who fought to keep America free. Despite a system of government that denied them full citizenship, they heeded the call to arms to defend and protect this country. Their sacrifice and courage must never be forgotten, omitted, or diminished," states Myrick.

FLY combines live action, video, military marches, actual combat footage, vibrant sound effects and lighting, all contributing to a stellar 90-minute, no intermission presentation.

First commissioned in 2005 by the Lincoln Center Institute, the educational arm of Lincoln Center, where playwright Ricardo Khan was an artist-in-residence, FLY addresses institutional racism, at its core. "The play is about lifting yourself off the ground, from what holds you down, reaching for your dream and elevating yourself to that place in the mind and the heart that's the sky," said Kahn.

FLY runs for two weekends only in February, Fridays through Sundays February 4-13, 2022. For a full schedule, directions to the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and ticket information, visit www.jpas.org or call the box office at 504-885-2000. School day performances are also available. The all-local cast and artistic team is comprised of Greater New Orleans area actors, crew, and designers:

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