A 'FLIGHT' WELL WORTH TAKING FOR ADULTS AND TEENS ALIKE.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

WE ALREADY KNEW actress/playwright Charlayne Woodard could tell autobiographical stories like nobody's business. In the solo plays ``Pretty Fire,'' ``Neat'' and ``In Real Life,'' Woodard took her place in the modern-day griot tradition and gave us a frequently fascinating glimpse into her life as well.

The revelation of Woodard's ``Flight,'' currently enjoying its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, is the playwright's knockout ability to recount a tale that isn't from her family history. Produced under Center Theatre Group's Performing for Los Angeles Youth (P.L.A.Y.) banner, ``Flight'' should certainly appeal to adults and mature teens. But really anybody with a hankering for myth and the ability to sit still for 100 gripping, intermission-less minutes should reap the benefits. Robert Egan's production isn't just a good yarn; it's seamlessly performed and, on more than one occasion, rather heartbreaking.

In 1858, a young female slave named Sadie has been sold from a Savannah, Ga., plantation. Her terrified young son, Little Jim, is up a tree on the plantation's outskirts. A handful of slaves from the community, including the boy's father, comfort Little Jim and act out stories to try to coax him down.

We never meet Sadie or Little Jim himself. But given the play's construction, the audience is basically up there sharing a branch with the boy. By production's end - heck, after five minutes of listening to these ever-so-rich tales - I'd be shimmying down out of those limbs, asking if I could play, too.

The stories are folksy and magical - apocryphal tales involving deities, devils, animals and the like. It's recounted how man persuaded God to give him more brute strength than woman, and how woman figured out how to equal the playing field. The origin of night and day - born out of a battle - is another winner.

Given the rather brief running time, Woodard still allows us to learn some important facts about the tellers. Oh Beah (played by Mya Lucretia Taylor) is the soothsayer; Ezra (Meshach Taylor) the forge who may have enabled Sadie to escape; there are also young Mercy (Chastity

Dotson) and Alma (Julanne Chidi Hill), who may have played a role in Sadie's sale. With Frank Faucette as Little Jim's father, and Nate and Ameenah Kaplan providing percussion accompaniment, the six-person ensemble is remarkable. Egan has them interacting as members of a community - indeed, members of a family - would.

The events take place in a shadowed, swampy marsh designed by Myung Hee Cho, illuminated in subtle firelight by Geoff Korf. But with actors this good, ``Flight'' would probably take flight on a bare stage.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

FLIGHT - Four stars

Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City

When: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Feb. 13

Tickets: $10 to $30. [phone]. www.KirkDouglasTheatre.org.

In a nutshell: This time, stage raconteur Charlayne Woodard lets other people tell stories. And they're mesmerizing.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Chastity Dotson, left, Frank Faucette and Julanne Chidi Hill try to coax a young slave out of a tree with stories in ``Flight.''