‘Kitty Hawk’ Fails to Achieve Liftoff

In Herman Raucher and Sukey Smith’s new musical about the Wright brothers, “Kitty Hawk, the Musical,” the title doesn’t simply refer to the place where the Wright brothers first successfully flew. In this premiere at the Court Theatre, Kitty (Kirsten Benton) is also the wisecracking muse with whom Wilbur (Stan Chandler) falls in love.

Act 1 is filled with cutesy humor--Benton spouts one-liners referencing the coming curse of airline travel. But Smith’s lyrics and music are as dull as the Dayton, Ohio, described in the first song. Kitty can be seen only by Wilbur and Orville (Reed Armstrong), yet this threesome’s chemistry never takes off.

Smith’s score soars during moments of the second act. As the shy engineer who runs the Wrights’ bicycle shop, Richard Israel has a charming little ditty about flight phobia, “My Feet Are Happy on the Ground.” Chandler sings a sorrowful reprise of “Send Word Home” as Wilbur fights against unscrupulous men who challenge the Wright’ patents.

Director Jules Aaron can’t quite make the first act work, yet he wrings all the emotion out of the second act as the brothers face public denouncements and legal problems .

In the end, Smith’s musical stylings don’t form a cohesive score, and Raucher and Smith’s book remains earthbound. Wilbur’s first flight didn’t last more than a minute, but a musical needs to lift us off the ground for a few hours. This musical needs a bit more tinkering before it can do that.

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* “Kitty Hawk, the Musical,” Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $25. (323) 677-TKTS. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.