Flyin' West
by Pearl Cleage

Name: Flyin' West
Brand: Pearl Cleage
SKU: 9780822214656
Rating: 3.99 (19 reviews)

Flyin' West Book Cover — Flyin' West Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 19th Century Role(s) for Black Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes Comedy

Synopsis

Facing problems ranging from the inevitability of long, cold winters, to the possibility of domestic violence, to the continuing specter of racial conflict, the women of Flyin’ West include Miss Leah, the old woman whose memories of slavery and its aftermath comprise a living oral history; Sophie Washington, whose determination to protect her land and those she loves puts to rest forever the requirement that western archetypes be white and male; Fannie Mae Dove, the gentle sister, trying to civilize the frontier with fine china and roses, who finds herself falling in love with their soft-spoken neighbor, Wil Parish; and Minnie Dove Charles, the headstrong baby sister whose mixed race husband, Frank, introduces a danger into the household that tests their sisterhood in unexpected ways.

Press Reviews

"A real crowd pleaser, and its characters have humor and vitality… Cleage [is] a natural-born storyteller."
— Washington Post

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Miss Leah A Black woman, born into slavery, age 73	female	—	A Black woman, born into slavery, age 73
Fannie Dove A Black woman, age 32	female	—	A Black woman, age 32
Wil Parish A Black man, born into slavery, age 40	—	—	A Black man, born into slavery, age 40
Minnie Dov Charles A Black woman, age 21	female	—	A Black woman, age 21
Frank Charles A very light skinned Black man, born into slavery, age 36	—	—	A very light skinned Black man, born into slavery, age 36
Sophie Washington A Black woman, born into slavery, age 36	female	—	A Black woman, born into slavery, age 36