The main (and only) character in "Flying Girls" tells us about the life of a mill worker back in the days before there was OSHA, a protective union, or a sense of public outrage at worker exploitation.  Told simply, acted beautifully (by the incomparable Agnes Cummings) this is the story of one girl, standing on the ledge of a burning building, ready to float down to her fate (she prefers the long glide to death by fire), telling us how it was that she came to this place at this time.  Never is there a moment of the sort of self-pity that makes audiences cringe.  Just a simple telling of the story.  And at the end all we can do is sit stunned by the beauty of the last sentence. 

The same playwright and actress then turn sentimentality on it's head as they take on the character and life of the great 19th century agitator, Mother Jones. Funny, thought provoking, tough and intelligent, this script brings this historical character to life.  Today mere sensibilities protect workers from the most blatant workplace dangers,  but in Mother Jones' time, nobody protected the miners. Nobody but her. She spent her life with her "boys", and they loved her for it.  If they were striking, she was on the line with them. If they were hungry, so was she. If they were in prison, Mother Jones sat in the next cell.  They were her family and she was their "mother'. It's rip-roarin' theater. And the best thing you can say about a play....any play.....is that it touches the heart.  Both of these plays do that...and so much more.