KIRO host Angela Poe Russell unveils ‘Aviatrix,’ a musical about a forgotten aviation hero
Jun 13, 2025, 2:41 PM | Updated: 2:44 pm
Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman, the first African-American female pilot in history. (Photo courtesy of the National Museum of African American History)
(Photo courtesy of the National Museum of African American History)
KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell penned a musical for the stage called “Aviatrix,” with a stage reading Friday, June 13, at 7 p.m.
“For the last 2.5 years, I’ve been working on a musical, and tomorrow is the first staged reading of it,” Poe Russell said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.
A stage reading is one of the final stages for a play before it premieres, where a live audience attends a showing with no set, costumes, or choreography.
“But you will get to hear the whole story and all of the music,” Poe Russell said. “To me, the magical part about it is that the audience gets to provide feedback. The goal for the writing team, me, the composer, the director, is to actually hear it on its feet, and then hear how audiences are reacting to it. Then we rewrite it, and then we stage it.”
What ‘Aviatrix’ is about
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The play, set to officially debut June 14, 2026, is about a girl from rural Texas in 1917 who has dreams of flying. But flight schools didn’t accept women, much less one who was Black and Native, during this time, causing her to chart a most unique path, making her an aviation legend in the process.
The play is based on a true story of a real-life figure, Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman.
“Orville Wright said that women weren’t mechanically inclined,” Poe Russell said. “So it follows a story of this one woman who refused to take no for an answer and managed to find a way. And they would call her the ‘Aviatrix.’ It’s just really this inspiring story. She’s been very inspiring to me.”
The book and lyrics were written by Poe Russell. The play is directed by Amy Poisson, with music and lyrics by Dionne McClain-Freeney.
“I traveled to her hometown where she grew up, got to do a lot of research,” Poe Russell said. “I traveled to Atlanta, Texas, where she was born. This tiny town has a little museum there for her with some of her memorabilia. What’s crazy is that she was before Amelia Earhart. I love highlighting these overlooked stories.”
The first stage reading for “Aviatrix” by Angela Poe Russell is Friday, June 13, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Listen to the full conversation here.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
