Sump’n Like Wings Review
Currently running at Mint Theater Company is the play Sump’n Like Wings by Lynn Riggs. Written in 1925 and published in 1928, its hard to imagine that a play of this caliber is just now having its New York Premiere. But thanks to the dedication of Mint Theater, that Premiere has finally arrived.
Riggs, the author of more than thirty plays, is widely known for his work with Green Grow the Lilacs. That play is the basis for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s landmark musical Oklahoma!
Sump’n Like Wings is also set in Oklahoma, six years after the Indian and Oklahoma Territories combined to become the 46th state in the Union in 1907. This play has some parts of characters from the musical that you will recognize. However, the theme of this play is very different and a bit surprising for this time period.
What Riggs successfully shows is that there are choices one makes in their lives. If held back from going in the direction needed, a person is going to feel restless and incomplete. However, at times, making those choices is difficult because of family, friends, and cultural mores. That need to be true to who and what we really are is essential to having a happy life. Sump’n Like Wings has several characters who are struggling with that need. Some are successful at achieving it and others are not.
Strong Production Elements
Under the direction of Raelle Myrick-Hodges, this play focuses on a woman choosing and deciding how she really wants to live her life. The production combines music, sets appropriate to the time and place, and a cast that comes through with superb performances to realistically show this woman and what she goes though to achieve that sense of self.
The play is delivered in 3 episodes over a two year period. Overall run time is a little over 2 hours with one 10 minute intermission. All moments in the play are well paced and it keeps the show flowing very smoothly.
Life in Claremont, Oklahoma
The play begins with neighbors gathered in the dining room of the town’s local hotel. It is a friendly gathering with the exception of Willie Baker, a high-spritied but confused 16 year old. She has a great deal of disappointment and discouragement about herself and she can’t figure out what to do.
Mariah Lee plays Willie. She does an excellent job throughout the entire play showing the turmoil her character goes through. Her facial expressions demonstrate what she is feeling. Her energy level gives credence to the title as we feel and see a woman who wants to live life on her own terms.
Willie lives at her Uncle Jim’s hotel. Richard Lear plays Uncle Jim Thompson with great warmth and compassion. The concern he shows for Willie as well as others in the show makes him a man that you would want to have by your side.
Willie’s mother, Mrs. Baker, runs the hotel’s dining room and constantly confronts shortages of help. To aid her, she enlists Willie to help her which doesn’t go over well with her. But as you watch this character progress, you can’t help but feel she was a product of her generation. Julia Brothers plays Mrs. Baker superbly as she shows the divide between her and daughter Willie.
Another significant character is Boy Huntington who claims to be in love with Willie. However, he is married and supposedly trying to get out of it. Lukey Klein turns in a very impressive and interesting performance in this role. At first, he appears so sincere, but as the play progresses, one wonders what happened to that sincerity. This is one character who also appears to be trying to find himself. His success is limited.
Willie Tries to Move On
Willie decides to leave her mother and the hotel. She goes off and has a child but we don’t hear who the father is. Eventually she returns home with her baby still wondering where she fits in this life.
Sadly, the child dies and she finally gets with Boy after he legally ends his marriage. But he leaves her. In what appears to be a brave more, Willie decides not to go back to the hotel and she ends up at a rooming house with a rough and unforgiving atmosphere. Men come after her, and she allows them to come into her room. She feels terrible about it. The look of a woman who is stuck in situation comes to light as she strives to live without allowing these men into her room.
Willie’s mother comes in and tries to get her to come home. Her mother really degrades her and she’s at the point where she can’t handle it or deal with it anymore.
Uncle Jim comes to see her. He wants her to leave the rooming house and come back to her home at the hotel. The kindness that comes from him shows as he starts talking about giving her back her old room. She decides to pack and leave but suddenly something snaps inside of her and she unpacks. She realizes that if she goes back with him, she’s not making progress. Willie tells him she’s got to stay and have her own life.
A Powerful Conclusion to Sump’n Like Wings
Willie demonstrates the strength she has gained as a result of her decision not to go back with Uncle Jim. Realizing she has a right to live her own life, she fortifies the entrance to her room to make it more secure.
But a final, beautiful scene ends the show. Willie comes center stage. A directed light shines down on her and she looks out to the audience. She stands alone on the stage with a power not shown by her before. Without words, she lets the audience know she is going to make a new life for herself and stand on her own. This is a very effective scene in the play.
Full Cast
The full cast includes:
Julia Brothers, Andrew Gombas, Traci Hovel, Lukey Klein, Richard Lear, Mariah Lee, Mike Masters, Leon Pintel, Buzz Roddy, Lindsey Steinert, and Joy Avigail Sudduth
Acting by all is impressive. If you enjoy seeing character development through strong acting, then you will enjoy seeing Sump’n Like Wings. Assisted by a well directed production, this play is well worth going to see.
To See Sump’n Like Wings
Tickets for Sump’n Like Wings are available online at Theatre Row Box Office or by phone at 212/714-2442, ext. 45 (daily from 12 Noon to 5PM). Purchases may also be made in person at the Theatre Row Box Office located at 410 West 42nd Street.
Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 7PM, with matinees Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2PM. There will be no 7pm performances on 10/11, 10/16, or 10/23.