She Takes Flight
Written and Performed by Sora Baek, Cindy Keiter, Gabriela Kohen, Adina Taubman, Susan Ward; Directed by Kelly O’Donnell
Chain Theatre | 312 W 36th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10018
May 15th - June 8th
Photo credit: Charles Chessler Web
Tonight on stage, there was a couple of hundred years of theatre artistry, creativity and human experience. The women of She Takes Flight have lived. They bring their stories to the stage in this gripping new work which slices together both their personal stories and the universal truths facing women in America today. Each of these stunning actresses get their solo moments to shine, but their ensemble work is truly electric. For actresses who have reached an age where the roles dry up, they prove that there should be shows dedicated just to them more often.
Sora Baek pulls no punches. Unabashedly raw, she will tell you she wishes her stories were made up. She brings light to the darkness of her own soul. Abandoned by her birth-mother, she questions what she owes to these genetic threads and if they truly bind.
Gabriela Kohen talks about the genetic threads pulling her to her children, and what happens when one relinquishes their identity. What happens when your baby decides the name you gave them, the name you whispered when drying their tears or making them giggle is gone. She questions her role in shaping her child’s identity, and what effect that has on her own identity as her mother. A story so timely, I watched as an audience member gently sobbed.
From Cindy Keiter, we learn about both losing yourself in and finding yourself in romantic relationships. Does loving someone mean you disappear, live in their shadow and drift from day to day, or does it mean feeling seen and heard and more alive with each passing day. Her identity was a hard won, lifelong journey.
In a lighter moment, Susan Ward is a (purposely) cringy, unrecognizable “Testosterone”, reminding us of the symptoms of menopause. In another beat, a vaginal lotion spokesperson. Ward shines as she tells us about her need for connection, physical connection. The moment lowers the cortisol in all of us.
Alzheimer’s affects 1 in 9 older Americans. Adina Taubman’s monologue on her mother with Alzheimer’s gives the play its name, She Takes Flight. Her fear of her mother forgetting her is palpable. This piece beautifully juxtaposes Kohen’s. And it highlights how well this play has been structured from five separate stories and layers them together.
I’ve seen many plays created with this structure, but rarely as well directed as this. Kelly O’Donnell has marvelously woven these performances together. The threads that bind are both literal and metaphoric with pacing and overlap moving us seamlessly throughout. Moving through Yi-Hsuan [Ant] Ma set with Chia Yuan [Joanne] Chuang’s props, the ensemble is delightfully nimble. I’m not sure if we have Sound Designer, Jeffrey Salerno or Composer, Alexander Sovronsky to thank for much of the underscoring here, but it is pitch perfect. The work of these creatives plays in complete harmony to the ensemble of actors.
Only two species have females that long outlive their ability to reproduce, humans and whales. This is an evolutionary adaptation proving we have a purpose far beyond nature. We are the teachers for the generations behind us. These women are here to give society a masterclass.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on May 19th, 2025. All rights reserved.