Jack Hitt

And sure enough, the kids sort of suddenly just lurch into the air. And it becomes clear right away that the people that they've hired to run these flying apparatuses really aren't quite clear on how they actually work.

And sure enough, the kids sort of suddenly just lurch into the air. And it becomes clear right away that the people that they've hired to run these flying apparatuses really aren't quite clear on how they actually work.

So instead of the kids sort of sailing, you know, gracefully to and fro, they sort of hang in the air like puppets, just sort of dangling there and sort of getting jerked up an inch or two or back and forth.

So instead of the kids sort of sailing, you know, gracefully to and fro, they sort of hang in the air like puppets, just sort of dangling there and sort of getting jerked up an inch or two or back and forth.

Yeah, just hanging there like a spider. And then several of them start to sort of circumscribe these circles in the air where it's clear that the people running the machines have just sort of set them off on these kind of oval courses that spiral farther and farther out. And if you're sitting in the audience, there was clearly a sense of fear on the faces of these people. Of the actors?

Yeah, just hanging there like a spider. And then several of them start to sort of circumscribe these circles in the air where it's clear that the people running the machines have just sort of set them off on these kind of oval courses that spiral farther and farther out. And if you're sitting in the audience, there was clearly a sense of fear on the faces of these people. Of the actors?

The actors. The actors actually, you could sense their lack of confidence, shall we say, in the people running the machines in the back.

The actors. The actors actually, you could sense their lack of confidence, shall we say, in the people running the machines in the back.

No one is laughing. Everyone, now this is one of the great things about audiences, especially in a live theater production, is that they're very forgiving. They want the show to work. And so everyone is sort of gripping their chair a little tightly. We feel for them. They're up there. They're embarrassing themselves for us.

No one is laughing. Everyone, now this is one of the great things about audiences, especially in a live theater production, is that they're very forgiving. They want the show to work. And so everyone is sort of gripping their chair a little tightly. We feel for them. They're up there. They're embarrassing themselves for us.

And so the audience, I think, was very forgiving and very understanding of this moment. But there was one moment in this first opening scene that kind of put the audience on notice. And that's when, as the kids are sort of jerking up and down and swinging back and forth and sort of going around in these ovals, at one point, the littlest one...

And so the audience, I think, was very forgiving and very understanding of this moment. But there was one moment in this first opening scene that kind of put the audience on notice. And that's when, as the kids are sort of jerking up and down and swinging back and forth and sort of going around in these ovals, at one point, the littlest one...

the little boy, is sort of being flung around a little too hard.

the little boy, is sort of being flung around a little too hard.

Right. Okay, so and? And so he's flying around in this circle, and the audience sort of sees this coming, and there's a real sense of pain and gripping of the chair and white knuckleness as the kid suddenly does just a,

Right. Okay, so and? And so he's flying around in this circle, and the audience sort of sees this coming, and there's a real sense of pain and gripping of the chair and white knuckleness as the kid suddenly does just a,

an enormous splat into the wardrobe I mean and it's clear that he's hurt you know and he comes off of it sort of you know a little dazed and then of course he's jerked up in the air a little bit and often a little too high so that he's suddenly sort of in the workings he's sort of He sort of left the stage itself. He's now up there with the lights, you know.

an enormous splat into the wardrobe I mean and it's clear that he's hurt you know and he comes off of it sort of you know a little dazed and then of course he's jerked up in the air a little bit and often a little too high so that he's suddenly sort of in the workings he's sort of He sort of left the stage itself. He's now up there with the lights, you know.

And then all of a sudden he just sort of... Suddenly he would just plummet back down to the stage and be caught up just before he hit the floor. And... It was hard to watch because, as you can tell, it's an incredibly funny moment. But like I say, the audience was still in this very forgiving mode. And no one said a word. We just all sat there sort of holding our breath.

And then all of a sudden he just sort of... Suddenly he would just plummet back down to the stage and be caught up just before he hit the floor. And... It was hard to watch because, as you can tell, it's an incredibly funny moment. But like I say, the audience was still in this very forgiving mode. And no one said a word. We just all sat there sort of holding our breath.