Pearl Cleage writes plays that feel like an invitation to pull up a chair—quietly, respectfully—and witness the conversations Black women have long relied on to survive. The kitchen‑table strategy sessions. The beauty‑shop truth‑telling. The whispered confessions and the loud declarations. For generations, these exchanges have been dismissed as gossip, but Cleage treats them as the sacred structure of endurance. In these rooms, around these tables and in these seats Black women sharpen the tools they need to navigate a world that too often underestimates them.
In honor of Women’s History Month, The Black Rep brings Cleage’s “Flyin’ West” to the stage. The play opened last weekend at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center and the turn‑of‑the‑century drama rooted in the all‑Black homesteading town of Nicodemus, Kansas continues through March 29. In Nicodemus, blood sisters and a chosen matriarch stake their claim to land, safety, and self‑determination while white encroachment looms just beyond the horizon. Before there was language for gentrification, there was speculation—and Sophie Washington is determined to protect her community from both.
Sophie, played with steely conviction by Margery Handy, is the eldest of three sisters and the architect of their shared dream. In Memphis, they were expected to uphold the machinery of white society. In Nicodemus, they are building a refuge where Black women can be the protagonists of their own lives. Sophie carries that responsibility like armor, convinced that her personal happiness is a small price to pay for her family’s freedom.
Guiding her is Miss Leah, portrayed by veteran actress Renee Lockett in a Black Rep debut that is equal parts sage wisdom and comedic balm. Miss Leah has endured the unthinkable as a formerly enslaved woman, yet Lockett refuses to let her be defined by trauma. Instead, she offers a portrait of a woman who has learned to hold grief in one hand and possibility in the other.
Jazzma Pryor’s Fannie is the soft center of the sisterhood—joyful, patient, and the perfect counterweight to Sophie’s rigidity. And Christina Yancy brings a heartbreaking tenderness to Minnie, the youngest sister whose return from London reveals the emotional cost she pays at the hands of her husband. Aaron Allen’s Frank, tormented by his biracial identity in Jim Crow America, sees his Blackness as a burden rather than a birthright. His unraveling is a painful reminder of how white supremacy distorts even the most intimate relationships.
On the opposite end of that spectrum is Will Parrish, played with grounded warmth by Reginald Wilson. Will embodies the kind of protection rooted not in dominance, but in devotion—a man who understands that safeguarding Black women is both duty and honor.
Director Jon Royal gives the production room to breathe. He lets the humor land, lets the tension simmer. He also lets the conversations linger long enough for the audience to feel their weight. The ensemble meets the moment with a shared sense of responsibility, fully aware that Cleage’s work demands both precision and heart.
That commitment was tested in real time when tornado warning alerts pierced the air midway through the second act. As phones blared and the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center initiated its shelter‑in‑place protocol, Black Rep Founder and Producing Director Ron Himes stepped onstage and paused the show. Audiences from other theaters were ushered into the mainstage space, and once everyone was settled, the cast resumed as if nothing had happened. Their focus never wavered—and the newly gathered audience stayed until the final bow. It was a testament to the power of live theater and the professionalism of this cast.
Scenic designer Chris Cumberbatch and costume designer Michele Siler craft a visual world that feels both lived‑in and aspirational. And sound designer Justin Schmitz adds a clever touch with a bluegrass cover of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ’Em Up Style,” a wink that bridges past and present.
But beyond the performances and production elements, “Flyin’ West” is a reminder that Black women’s stories are not niche, supplemental, or optional. They are essential to the canon of American—and global—theater. Cleage’s work insists that the emotional lives, dreams, and strategies of Black women deserve center stage. And The Black Rep’s staging reinforces that truth with every scene.
The Black Rep’s presentation of Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West continues through March 29 at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit www.theblackrep.org or call 314.534.3807.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
