Theatre Arlington presents Fly by Night
Conceived by Kim Rosenstock
Written by Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick and Kim Rosenstock
Directed by Major Attaway
Music Directed by Vicky Nooe
Piano Vicky Nooe
Bass Guitar Rick Norman
Drums Michael Ptacin
Guitar Aaron Sutton
Cast
Landry Beckley
Billy Betsill
David Coffee
Sydney Dotson
Parker Fitzgerald
Donovan Marie Lawson
David Lugo
Scenic and Lighting Design by Bryan Stevenson
Sound Design by Ryan Simon
Costume Design by Hannah Bell
Properties Design by Robin Dotson
Stage Manager Michael Green
Asst Stage Manager Javier Casablanca
Production Manager Maria Leon Hickox
My thoughts on Fly by Night or…love and loss under the stars
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly love theater any more than I do, Theatre Arlington produces a musical I didn’t know existed and blows me away so completely it’s like falling in love for the first time.
Fly by Night is a simple story, basically a love triangle as the Narrator explains. But it is so much more. Fly by Night with masterful simplicity and a lovely soft rock score, beautifully rendered by Vicky Nooe and her on stage band, is all about fate and the people it brings into our lives to love and to lose. The nonlinear story line serves to emphasize the wistful. almost dreamlike quality of the play.
The plot revolves around Daphne (Sydney Dotson) and Miriam (Donovan Marie Lawson), two sisters from South Dakota. Daphne, an actress feels the lure of Broadway and convinces her sister Miriam, a homebody and stargazer, to move with her to NYC. There they meet Harold McClam (Landry Beckley), an aspiring musician working in a deli owned by the grumpy Crabble (Billy Betsill) who longs for his wartime days as an air traffic controller. Mr. McClam (David Coffee) is Harold’s father lost in grief for his wife Cecily. Daphne meets Joey Storms (Parker Fitzgerald) a frustrated playwright who proclaims Daphne his muse. The stories are interwoven and explained by the Narrator (David Lugo) who plays multiple characters. The climax of the story comes during the great northeast blackout of 1965.
Major Attaway directs Fly by Night with a sure and gentle hand letting the scenes flow seamlessly into each other on scenic and lighting designer Bryan Stevenson’s multilevel set accented by the predominantly blue lighting. There’s nothing flashy here. Hannah Bell’s costumes, while character defining, are just the everyday clothes of the mid 1960’s. Everything is kept simple to serve the story.
Attaway has assembled a cast of outstanding actor/vocalists who bring both heart and soul to Fly by Night. Parker Fitzgerald makes the playwright Joey harried and intense, but likeable, and has a terrific duet with his muse Daphne in “What You Do to Me.”
Billy Betsill is constantly amusing as the beleaguered “maestro of mayonnaise” Crabble, who would much rather be directing flights than making sandwiches. Betsill is hilarious lamenting his life of “mayonnaise, meat, cheese and lettuce.”
Sydney Dotson reminded me of a young Amy Adams as Daphne. She captures all of Daphne’s drive and self-confidence and though some of Daphne’s choices are self-serving, she never comes across as selfish. She’s a small-town girl who admits in a wonderful solo, “I Need More.”
I was totally charmed by the beautifully understated, quiet, and endearing performance of Donovan Marie Lawson as Miriam. Miriam is the opposite of her sister Daphne and finds happiness in her life in South Dakota and Lawson’s ode to the heavens “Stars I Trust” is a show highlight.
Landry Beckley brings an authentic sensitivity to Harold and his appeal to both Daphne and Miriam is understandable. He gives a sort of All American boy nonthreatening sexiness to Harold and Beckley’s vocals whether duets or solos are exceptional.
The real coup of Attaway’s casting is a tale of two Superstar Davids, Lugo and Coffee. David Lugo is the Narrator and his smooth as honey voice holds Fly by Night together. Lugo can take an audience from humor to pathos in an instant. He is a polished pro who is stage presence personified.
Then there’s David Coffee who played the role of Mr. McClam ten years ago, long before I became a Texan. Coffee brings heartbreakingly real grief to Mr. McClam, who cannot move past the death of his wife Cecily whom he forever associates with “La Traviata.” His McClam is somehow robust yet fragile simultaneously and his song “Cecily Smith” where he recounts his life with his wife is one of the most wonderful moments of theater I have experienced.
Fly by Night was a total surprise and a total joy. It is a bit like Bright Star in the way it weaves its spell. You owe it to yourself to see this stellar production and, if this show doesn’t touch your heart, a visit to the cardiologist is in order.
