Take Flight - TNT

Unlike its protagonists, this pleasant, sometimes poignant, sometimes funny American musical only occasionally soars, but it taxis along entertainingly as the lives of four pioneers in the field of aviation are observed by the more obscure Otto Lilienthal, who himself died in 1896 in a failed attempt to become airborne. The determined experimentation of the dry, wry besuited Wright brothers a few years later is interspersed with the exploits of loner Charles Lindbergh and the record-breaking achievements of his contemporary Amelia Earhart. Sensibly opting for a simple but effective staging in this intimate space, director Sam Buntrock conjures the excitement of defying gravity by focussing as much on the personalities of these early aviators as on their feats of flying.
Menier Chocolate Factory. Southwark St, SE1 (020-7907 7060). Until September 22, £24 or £10 Saturday matinees