The Mint Theater Company has brought onstage at New York’s Theater Row yet another lost or underappreciated play. Lynn Riggs’ “Sump'n Like Wings” follows the adventures of Willie Baker, 16 years old at the play’s start.
Playwright and poet Riggs was born and raised in Oklahoma, and his works are set in the Southwest. He wrote more than 20 plays, many of which were produced but didn’t garner much attention until “Green Grow the Lilacs,” which proved to be the template for the magnificent musical “Oklahoma.”
The Path to ‘Sump’n Like Wings’
Riggs left Oklahoma for New York City, where he joined the downtown artistic and literary community of the 1920s. It’s possibly the type of move that Willie was trying to make in “Sump'n Like Wings.”
In the play Willie (Mariah Lee) is under the thumb of her mother Mrs. Baker (Julia Brothers). Mrs. Baker runs the restaurant in the hotel her brother Uncle Jim Thompson (Richard Lear) owns.
Uncle Jim is sympathetic to Willie’s yearnings, believing that a person can’t suppress their purpose. “You can’t keep a lid on those feelings,” he says. He proves to be right.
But soon another young girl enters, to help Mrs. Baker with work in the kitchen. She’s Elvie Rapp (Lindsey Steinert). She’s recently been released from jail on a minor charge. Elvie saunters suggestively; her blouse is a bit lower in front than necessary. Suitable period costumes were designed by Emilee McVey-Lee.
Elvie means to shock Willie, and she succeeds.
Willie’s attention is caught by Boy Huntingdon (Lukey Klein). Never mind that he’s married; he soon divorces his wife—or so he says—and he and Willie run off together.
A few years later Willie returns home with an infant. His father isn’t Boy; his dad is man she’s fallen in love with, who has rejected her.
Willie’s caught up in her mother’s power again. Boy lurks nearby and Willie is tempted to run off. But her mother persuades her to stay for an impromptu party. It’s cake and ice cream!
Young Opalena (Leon Pintel) sings a sad ballad; Uncle Jim treats them all to a dulcimer concert.
But Willie is unmoved; she remains depressed.
After tragedy strikes, Willie makes a controversial decision. She realizes she must make it on her own, by herself, and be her own person. Here a startling directorial touch seals the deal.
The Players Themselves
Acting is fine, with no startling standouts. Lindsey Steinert remains in one’s memory in spite of her having only one scene. Richard Lear lends warmth to the role of Uncle Jim, while Julia Brothers anchors the proceedings with a stiff-spined approach.
The company in general does well with their southwestern accents. Amy Stoller is credited with dialect aid. Lighting by Isabella Gill-Gomez is consistently a bit dim, undoubtedly to recreate the sense of a 1920s lighting atmosphere. However, this approach can be a bit tough for audience members, some of whom must squint in order to see clearly.
Sets by Junghyun Georgia Lee are simple but effective. They convey the sense of a respectable lower middle class environment.
Director Raelle Myrick-Hodges has done well to coordinate the segments.
The Mint Theater
Jonathan Bank has been artistic director of the Mint Theater Company since 1995. He began to shape the company’s mission of focusing on neglected plays of the past. Under Bank’s stewardship, audiences have been introduced to dozens of forgotten and neglected plays.
Authors have been renowned, such as Hemingway and Tolstoy or obscure, such as Teresa Deevy and Allan Monkhouse. Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote that “The Mint Theater is the resurrectionist extraordinaire of forgotten plays.”
Some of the most greatly recognized productions include “The Voysey Inheritance” by Harley Granville-Barker, to the four-time Drama Desk nominated “So Help Me God” by Maurine Dallas Watkins in 2009.
Jonathan Bank has now added the current production of Lynn Riggs’ “Sump'n Like Wings” to his notable roster.
‘Sump’n Like Wings’ Mint Theater Company 410 W. 42nd St. New York City Tickets: 212-714-2442 x45 and MintTheater.org Runs: 2 hours (one intermission) Closes: Nov. 2, 2024
