Flying Over Sunset
Written by James Lapine, Tom Kitt, and Michael Korie
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Lincoln Center Theater
Directed by James Lapine, Choreography by Michele Dorrance
Costumes by Toni Leslie James, Lighting by Bradley King, Sound by Dan Moses Schreier, Projections by 59 Productions
2021
Drama Desk Award
Tony Award Nomination
Outer Critic's Circle Award Nomination
Preshow
Overture
Harry Hadden-Paton.
Overture
Carmen Cusack, Nehal Joshi, Atticus Ware, Harry Hadden-Paton, Laura Shoop, Emily Pynenburg, Tony Yazbeck, Michele Ragusa, Robert Sella, & Kanisha Marie Feliciano.
Rexall
Nehal Joshi, Atticus Ware, Laura Shoop, Harry Hadden-Paton, & Robert Sella.
Rexall
Robert Sella, Emily Pynenburg, Laura Shoop, & Harry Hadden-Paton.
Rexall Hallucination
Michele Ragusa, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Laura Shoop, Harry Hadden-Paton, & Robert Sella.
Rexall Hallucination
Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Harry Hadden-Paton, Laura Shoop, Michele Ragusa, & Robert Sella.
Rexall Hallucination
Harry Hadden-Paton, Laura Shoop, & Robert Sella.
Psychiatrist
Nehal Joshi & Tony Yazbeck.
Hallucination
Tony Yazbeck & Atticus Ware.
Claire Boothe Luce's Estate
Michele Ragusa, Carmen Cusack, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, & Robert Sella.
Claire Boothe Luce's Estate
Robert Sella & Carmen Cusack.
Claire Boothe Luce's Estate Hallucination
Carmen Cusack & Robert Sella.
TV Interview
Robert Sella, Laura Shoop, & Harry Hadden-Paton.
The Brown Derby
Robert Sella, Harry Hadden-Paton, Carmen Cusack, & Tony Yazbeck.
The Brown Derby
Robert Sella, Harry Hadden-Paton, Carmen Cusack, & Tony Yazbeck.
The Brown Derby
Atticus Ware, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Nehal Joshi, Robert Sella, Michele Ragusa, Carmen Cusack, Tony Yazbeck, Laura Shoop, & Emily Pynenburg.
Malibu
Robert Sella, Harry Hadden-Paton, Carmen Cusack, & Tony Yazbeck.
Malibu
Tony Yazbeck, Harry Hadden-Paton, Carmen Cusack, & Robert Sella.
Malibu Hallucination
Carmen Cusack & company.
Heaven
Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Carmen Cusack, & Michele Ragusa.
Hell
Carmen Cusack
Ocean
Robert Sella, Harry Hadden-Paton, Tony Yazbeck, & Atticus Ware.
Ocean
Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert Sella, & Tony Yazbeck.
Transition
Company
Malibu
Robert Sella, Emily Pynenburg, Nehal Joshi, Tony Yazbeck, Atticus Ware, Michele Ragusa, Carmen Cusack,
Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Harry Hadden-Paton, & Laura Shoop.
“Here we first see the versatility of Beowulf Boritt’s stage design—an empty ampitheater that eventually takes on elements of a Malibu beach-house, a roiling sea, and even a film-set thanks to projections by 59 Productions.” ~Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast
“The depiction of Huxley’s first trip sets the musical’s format: The drugstore set – beautifully rendered, even in its initial realism, by scenic designer Beowulf Boritt – begins to shimmer and dazzle, with its mid-century light fixtures moving and changing colors, subtly at first and then no holds barred. As Huxley peruses an art book of Botticelli paintings, the curved walls of the production’s vast set turn full-on Italian Renaissance with projections of “Judith with the Head of Holofernes.” The painting’s characters then spring to life, with actors Kanisha Marie Feliciano and Michele Ragusa joining the exhilarated Huxley in “Bella Donna Di Agonia,” a sweepingly romantic number that melds musical theater with Italian opera.
Clare’s imaginary trip to an Eden-like heaven, where she reunites with her daughter and mother, is as sumptuous as it is sad, and the wave-tossed near-drowning of “Three Englishmen” is a master class in stagecraft, with lighting, projections, dry ice and performance coming together for a thrilling scene.” ~Greg Evans, Deadline
“The show’s trippy sensibility is strikingly displayed on Beowulf Boritt’s spare, highly stylized cycloramic set.” ~Marilyn Stasio, Variety
“But the physical production, with gorgeous sets by Beowulf Boritt (the luxurious fern-lined bower in which Luce sees a vision of her mother is almost worth the price of a ticket), and aptly hallucinatory lighting by Bradley King, could hardly be bettered.”
Charles Isherwood, ~Broadway News
“Typically gorgeous technical wizardry of the Lincoln Center Theater production. The lighting (by Bradley King) and the projections (by 59 Productions) on Beowulf Boritt’s swirling-circles set — along with the immersively psychedelic sound by Dan Moses Schreier — bring us closer to the sensation of melting consciousness than the script ever manages. At times even the costumes (by Toni-Leslie James) seem to be tripping. And Dorrance’s choreography for the show’s opening, arranging the cast’s varying footfalls in rhythmic counterpoint, is sublime.” ~Jesse Green, New York Times
“The scenic design—by Beowulf Boritt, perhaps the most consistently excellent part of the show—shifts and the painting comes to life. Here comes Judith accompanied by her handmaiden, with the head of Holofernes in tow. That ecstatic visual idea gives way to a pretty but mostly conventional bel-canto number.” ~Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker
“Beowulf Boritt’s astonishing set, which collapses in and out of itself to reveal the many folds of the characters’ minds and memories.” ~ Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely
“The staging is very handsome indeed: Beowulf Boritt’s expansive set, Toni-Leslie James’s costumes and Bradley King’s lighting are all first-class.” ~ Adam Feldman, Time Out New York
“This offbeat premise — smartly realized only by Beowulf Boritt’s scenic designs and the projections by 59 Productions. the challenge to engage the eye is handled pretty well by Boritt and 59 Productions. They have collaborated impressively on the illusions conjured by imaginations running wild, images populated by Botticelli paintings come to life, mutating floral landscapes and mist-covered oceans enshrouding dreamlike figures.” ~ Peter Marks, The Washington Post
“All of the locales are brought to stunning life by set designer Beowulf Borrit, working off an initially blank planetarium-like semicircle, alongside the invaluable help of 59 Productions’ stunning projections.” ~ Brian Scott Lipton, Cititour NY
“Against a very trippy, fluid, and fantastic stage design—kudos to designer Beowulf Boritt, the projectionists at 59 Productions, Huxley, Grant, and Luce experiment with the drug under Heard’s guidance. There is a scene where Huxley sees Boticelli’s “The Return of Judith to Bethulia” come to life in a Rexall pharmacy. Against the wonderful shape-shifting set, the minds of Boticelli and Huxley meet.” ~Bedatri D.Choudhury, Didtheylikeit.com
“This elegantly designed show (by Beowulf Boritt)” ~Chris Jones, Daily News
“Dan Moses Schreier’s sound design, which conspires with Beowulf Boritt’s spare but stunning sets, Bradley King’s lighting and projections by 59 Productions to create gorgeously hallucinogenic effects.” ~ Elysa Gardner, NY Stage Review
“The show certainly looks spectacular on the vast Vivian Beaumont stage, with Beowulf Boritt’s sets, Toni-Leslie James’ costumes, Bradley King’s lighting and particularly 59 Productions’ projections making striking impressions.” ~ Frank Scheck, NY Stage Review
“Beowulf Boritt’s sets, glamorously lit by Bradley King, summon a drugstore, airy homes, a shrink’s office, and a Malibu beach, and are crisp and beautiful.” ~ Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Theatre Guide