Renaissance Theaterworks and the Marquette University Theatre Department are staging Phylis Ravel’s acclaimed Censored on Final Approach, a testament to the courage and resilience of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in World War II. The production’s genius begins with its magnificent script. Ravel’s dialogue is accessible, humorous and to the point. It frequently sounds like a conversation one might overhear today, raising the important question of how far we’ve really come as a nation in the realm of gender equality.
The WASPs’ mission at Camp Davis was to help train artillerymen by towing targets, simulating dive bombings and facilitating tracking exercises. Under often remote direction from the famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, WASPs were subject to workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and outright sabotage. These 1,074 women did not receive veteran status until 1977 and their story is still little known today.
Greta Wohlrabe simmers as Cochran, a woman driven by personal ambition and uncompromising commitment to securing women’s place in military aviation. Although she frequently speaks in apothegms—“I’ve got a plane to fly and so do you”—Wohlrabe’s marvelous physical characterization reveals the depth and conflict within a character willing to put the grand design before the lives of her subordinates.
Four of these female pilots are the focus of the story. As Catherine, a blueblood rejected by her family for her “unladylike” behavior, Kat Wodtke brings dry wit and gravitas to the foursome; her ideology is closest to that of a modern feminist and Wodtke does an excellent job transposing this to the 1940s setting. Marquette junior Jordan Feger plays Liz, an army brat whose background allows her unique access to effective communication with unsympathetic male superiors. Feger plays the part with great solidity, effectively portraying a woman struggling to remain unmoved even by the violent deaths of friends and family. Megan Kaminsky’s Gerry is a pistol with sensuality and passion that make her confrontation with entrenched patriarchy most stark. Her monologue about the pleasurable vibrations of a plane taking off is sidesplitting, and her nuanced approach is well suited to her character’s journey through a wide range of emotions. Perhaps most impressive is Marquette University third-year undergraduate Madeleine Farley as Mary, a wide-eyed Catholic teenager from Minnesota. She is particularly striking in a scene with Major Stephenson—James Fletcher admirably humanizing the most sexist male voice in the play. The two discuss her penchant for getting the hiccups “in a tight spot,” establishing a tenuous rapport within a structure that restricts them both.
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In addition to Fletcher, several male performers fill out the complement of alternately harassing, curious and jealous male servicemen and officers. Under Leda Hoffman’s direction, all deliver excellent performances.
Tasteful production elements accompany the central performances. Stephen Hudson-Mairet’s scenic design places the performers in an enormous cockpit with a window onto the wild blue yonder and Victoria Deiorio’s soundscape is appropriately grand and militaristic, evoking George Lucas at times in its heroic sweeps and crashing brass.
Censored is a triumph for bringing to light a story kept under wraps for far too long.
Through April 24 at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit tickets.broadwaytheatrecenter.com.
