By Kathryn Olsen
This September, Utah Valley University‘s The Noorda Center for the Perfoming Arts, a fairly-new venue in Orem, is home to a new, pre-Broadway musical Fly More Than You Fall. This work by Composer Nat Zegree and Writer Eric Holmes was presented to members of the performing arts industry in New York City, but its world premiere is currently playing from September 12-28 under the direction of Jeff Whiting. Zegree and Holmes share a personal inspiration for this work. Both of them lost parents at an early age and have used those experiences to inform the journey of the family at the center of the play. I am fascinated by plays on their ways to more prominent venues, so was looking forward to being in one of its first audiences.
Malia (Lexi Walker) is a 14-year-old aspiring writer who can’t seem to get one story out of her head. It concerns Willow (Autumn Best), a bird with broken wings whose life’s ambition is to reach the top of a mountain where she knows that everything will change. Malia brings her work-in-progress to writing camp and is encouraged by fellow author Caleb (Seth Foster) to take risks and stay true to her story. Before she can act on her new-found confidence, however, her parents Paul (Thom Miller) and Jennifer (Jennifer Fouche) arrive to announce that Jennifer has terminal cancer. Malia returns home to spend every moment she can with her dying mother and struggles to reconcile her own feelings of frustration by exploring them in her story.
Walker is a young, but well-known, singing talent and her foray into this dramatic piece is age-appropriate. Her struggles are extraordinary in many senses, but any person who has been an adolescent will remember what it is like to feel the world is turned against you and everything is moving too fast for understanding. Her energy stands out throughout the play, particularly whenever she escapes into fiction to make sense of her struggle.
Best, meanwhile, plays the ambitious protagonist of Malia’s story with magical abandon. During the second act, her relationship with her creator is reminiscent of Jean Anouilh‘s The Cavern, in which author and characters come into conflict with each other. Best is versatile in reflecting Walker’s inner turmoil.
Foster is a show-stealing presence on stage. He alternates between motivational speaker and shoulder to text sad emojis on in a way that is endearing and sincere. While the choreography of this musical is spunky and youthful, he is the actor who seems most at home with his own body language and as if his choreography is merely the way he always expresses himself.
Fouche plays a character who seems to be a soul sister to Caleb and Malia, but an interesting complement to her husband. She plays Jennifer as the sort of mother who will always volunteer her child for something new and challenging, but has moments of more sympathetic understanding. This makes her a force to be reckoned with on-stage and someone to be missed when off-stage.
Miller plays one of the more interesting roles in the play as he makes the effort during his wife’s last days to keep the family united and, later, struggles to fill his wife’s shoes. Miller’s Paul always has good intentions, but the moments in which he misses the mark are done with effective sincerity.
The play features a large ensemble, but two stand-out performances come in the form of Malia’s friend Derek (Josh Durfey) and Willow’s fellow flightless bird Flynn (Cairo McGee). These two seem to play similar roles. Derek provides a grounding influence for Malia while most of her peers don’t know how to approach her and Durfey’s presence onstage becomes a soothing one. McGee, meanwhile, is a character who doubts his own powers and his journey to a more confident place is an attention-grabbing one. The rest of the ensemble rises to the challenge of playing parts ranging from bullying woodland animals to self-absorbed high schoolers.
The stage at The Noorda is cleverly used by Scenic Designer Ann Beyersdorfer, transforming a three-part set from a house to a school and even a mountain. This is enhanced by the lighting design by Keith A. Truax, which depicts seasons of the year or moods of the characters. The sound design by Jackie Barrett employs ambient noise effectively and allows the audience to experience the music fully. Costume Designer Heather McDevitt Barton alternates between setting-appropriate modern clothing and wonderfully whimsical costumes for the characters in Malia’s imagination. The choreography by director Jeff Whiting is energizing, while the Flight Choreography by Randall L. Christensen III is spine-tingling. The musical direction by composer Zegree highlights great moments of harmony as well as moving instrumental solos by cello and piano.
Fly More Than You Fall will only be around until September 28, but there is plenty of time to be one of the first fans of this Broadway-bound production. Mature themes and some profanity make it unsuitable for younger audiences, but its depictions of self-confidence, crisis management, and cooperation make it something to be discussed by friends and families.
In Fine Company Presents Fly More Than You Fall; Music and Lyrics by Nat Zegree, Book and Lyrics by Eric Holmes
The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, 800 W University Parkway, Orem, Utah 84058
September 12-28, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $35-45
www.flymoretyf.com
Contact: 801-863-7529
The Noorda Center Facebook Page
Fly More Than You Fall Facebook Event
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