Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Winging It

A West African legend tells of a girl with Rapunzel-like hair. One day, a bird steals her luscious locks, and the man who would marry her embarks on a wild adventure to retrieve them. The tale stuck with Warren playwright Keryn Nightingale, but she envisioned an alternate ending. “I just wanted her to go find her own hair,” she explains, “and find her inner beauty rather than what was just on the surface.” Nightingale’s one-woman show Wings, which has rested two years since its debut at Phantom Theater, features that twist — and a few unlikely turns. The quirky storytelling performance weaves in African dancing and drumming, film clips, a soundtrack of Weezer and Velvet Underground songs, and aspects of Nightingale’s own life adventures. The result? An off-the-beaten-track show about finding your path.