THEATER REVIEW | 'BLACK ANGELS OVER TUSKEGEE'

clipped from www.nytimes.com THEATER REVIEW | 'BLACK ANGELS OVER TUSKEGEE' An Elite Squadron, Before It Was Airborne Alexandra Marlin “Black Angels Over Tuskegee”: From left, Rich Skidmore, Lamman Rucker, Thom Scott II, David Wendell Boykins, Demetrus Grosse, Derek Shaun and Layon Gray in Mr. Gray’s drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, fighter pilots in World War II, at St. Luke’s Theater. Mr. Gray also directs. By JASON ZINOMAN “Black Angels Over Tuskegee,” Layon Gray’s sturdy drama about trailblazing African-American fighter pilots entering the European theater in World War II, gets by on the charm of the cast and a commitment to the rules of the uplifting inspirational melodrama. The leisurely 2-hour-20-minute play is full of good intentions, decent talent and not an ounce of daring. Mr. Gray, who stages his own work, steers his underdog story so cautiously, moving in the straightest of lines, that you don’t always realize how deftly he’s setting you up.