Review: THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK at Theater J

THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK is a unique, beautiful and fascinating show that knits together theatre, music and aerial performance in a production that is memorable, meaningful and gorgeous to behold.

The DC-area premiere, at Theater J through November 1, engages every sense. Music, movement, color, words and images conjure the real-life union of Marc and Bella Chagall and the tempestuous times they lived through.

Whimsy and joy, humor and light run through the couple’s relationship, in what they create and how they live. They begin as effervescent dreamers, painting, writing and taking in the world with gusto.

But darkness encroaches. The couple weathers the horror of two world wars, revolution, pogroms, antisemitism, turmoil, confusion, displacement.

No place was steady; one place was home: Vitebsk.

The play opens with Marc (Jamie Smithson) sharing a black-and-white postcard of Vitebsk as it was near the turn of the 20th century. It depicts a rich and vital center of Jewish culture at its height. Marc quietly states that the postcard is all that remains of this vibrant community. The ravages of war wiped out the town.

It was Vitebsk that nurtured young Marc and Bella who meet, woo, marry and begin a life together there. Smithson’s Marc Chagall is powerfully matched by Dani Stoller’s earthy, wise and vibrant Bella. Stoller is a force – her commanding energy shines as Chagall’s artistic muse and as a pragmatic realist in the face of political tumult.

But it is not just Smithson and Stoller who bring the Chagalls to life. Music and movement do, too.

Jeremy Crawford and Katrina Michaels are versatile musicians, adeptly switching among keyboard, accordion, cello, guitar, percussion and more playing evocative music of composer Ian Ross and compositions by Sarah O’Halloran written specifically for this production. Crawford and Michaels play onstage but also bring the action and music through the aisles and next to the audience. Their vocals stand in for Bella and Marc in one number or entwine with Stoller’s and Smithson’s voices beautifully at other times. The musicians provide dialogue for other unseen characters, and their instruments stand in for stage cues like a ticking clock. These musicians are not shadowy underscoring. They are front-and-center storytellers.

Aerialists Thomas Martin and Rachael Small paint pictures with their bodies through movement. Instead of a familiar circular trapeze hoop, they work in a metal rectangle suspended at center stage. Within that picture frame the two athlete-artists render the loving relationship of Marc and Bella. Much of the Chagall’s lives in chaotic times were a balancing act between the creative path or the safe one, and Martin and Small physically depict the tenuous stability needed to be secure. Chagall’s paintings frequently depicted his muse, Bella, on the canvas. Martin and Small use those portraits as a jumping off point for their visual depictions. Gwynne Flanagan is the choreographer and aerial consultant who guided the powerful movement.

Projections by designer Camilla Tassi add another layer of wonder. A curtain drawn across the stage becomes a moving locomotive. Five panels of different shapes hang above the stage displaying Chagall’s images, many of them portraits of Bella or of his beloved Vitebsk.

It is director Haley Finn who brings this magic together. As Theater J’s artistic director she added the new work by Daniel Jamieson into the theater’s 2026-2027 season. And she assembled the top-notch performers and designers to deliver such a moving and distinctive production. The staging is inventive and expansive, making the intimate theater feel lively and sprawling, fitting for a couple whose lives took them across borders and continents.

Misha Kachman’s set design nods to the angles and materials of the avant garde Russian Constructivism of the time. Costume Designer Frank Labovitz, Lighting Designer Colin K. Bills and Props Designer Aofie Creighton echo the visual cues of Chagall’s renowned artwork. Sarah O’Halloran, who wrote original music for the production, also designed the sound.

Throughout his career, Chagall returned again and again to the image of lovers floating above Vitebsk. Each painting is a balancing act between love and sorrow. The art shows us love carries both happiness and grief, and it can lift us even when the world below is heavy. The flying couples present love as a way to rise above hardship, but also as a longing to hold onto what is slipping away.

“The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” is an ethereal and beautiful production. It is a true feast of the senses that vibrates with vitality, even as it explores the aftereffects of war, deprivation and discrimination. At its core is the love between two people and their community and culture. Plan to see it before it closes on November 1.

Runtime: 80 minutes

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk by Daniel Jamieson, with music by Ian Ross and Sarah O’Halloran, and directed by Hayley Finn, is presented by Theater J. It is performed at the Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater at the Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. The production runs through November 1, 2026, with performances on Friday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM, and select additional Wednesday matinees at 12:00 PM and weeknight evenings at 7:30 PM. For detailed schedule, ticket purchases, accessible performance information, special events, attendance policies and further details visit the company’s website.

Cast: Jamie Smithson (Marc Chagall), Dani Stoller (Bella Chagall), Thomas Martin (Aerialist, Stunt/Aerial Captain), Rachael Small (Aerialist), Jeremy Crawford (Musician), Katrina Michaels (Musician, Music Director)

Creative Team: Hayley Finn (Director), Colin K. Bills (Lighting Design), Misha Kachman (Set Design), Frank Labovitz (Costume Design), Sarah O’Halloran (Sound Design), Gwynne Flanagan (Choreographer/Aerial Consultant), Katrina Michaels (Music Director), Aofie Creighton (Props Design), Camilla Tassi (Projections Designer)

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