Truman Theatre performs their first show of the semester: Night Witches

Truman Theatre’s rendition of Night Witches was directed by theatre professor Cat Gleason and ran Oct. 1-4. Night Witches is based on the true story of an all-female Russian night bomber unit during World War II. The play follows the story of two new navigators on their first flights and the instance of fighter planes finding the bombers.

The new navigators Nina and Vera discuss their fears for their first flights. Nina was played by Kailey Wray and Vera was played by Aliza Carlson.

Valentina, played by Maddy Johnson, tells the story of her first flight to the new navigators. Valentina’s character was based on Valentina Grizodubova who was the only female pilot to receive both the Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labour titles.

Hailey Wray and M. Brotherton act out their plane going down. Throughout the plane scenes, the cast would mimic engine noises and stand in place of the wings.

At the end of the performance, the cast performs a monologue about the historical Night Witches. The cast listed plane parts lost in battle and shared that eight women died that night.