Review Fix Exclusive: Lowell Byers Talks ‘Luft Gangster’

Review Fix chats with Lowell Byers, playwright of “Luft Gangster,” who discusses the origin o the production and its goals. Directed by theatre icon Austin Pendleton, it’s got the potential to be one of the most talked about productions this year.

About the Production:

Written by LOWELL BYERS
Directed by AUSTIN PENDLETON

Starring RALPH BYERS*, LOWELL BYERS*, ERIC T. MILLER*, ANDY TRUSCHINSKI*, NOEL JOSEPH ALLAIN*, SETH JAMES, PAUL BOMBA*, CASANDERA M.J. LOLLAR*, SEAN HOAGLAND*, and GABE BETTIO*.

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
MARCH 31 – APRIL 16, 2017 AT THE SHEEN CENTER

OPENING NIGHT IS SATURDAY, APRIL 1 AT 8 P.M.

After bailing out of his crippled B24 bomber under heavy fire from German forces, waist gunner Lou Fowler is captured by the Nazis. Incarcerated along with other Allied fliers in an inhumane Nazi prison camp, where POWs view new prisoners with suspicion as possible Nazi infiltrators, Lou has to heal his own battle injuries, as his captors treat him as just another ‘luft gangster’ – a term Joseph Goebbels created as propaganda to convince the German nation that all American flyers were criminals released from prison by the US government in order to fight in World War II.

As Lou endures the hellish and unsanitary conditions of prison camp life, subsisting on what could barely be described as food and enduring unspeakable cruelty, surviving to escape becomes his only goal. In a time and place where men on both sides of the war were stripped of all things civilized and reduced to the bare essentials of life, where a single slip of the tongue could mean death, Lou will have to rely on his faith to make it out alive.

To learn more about Luft Gangster click here.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration behind Luft Gangster?

Lowell Byers: I originally wanted to go to Columbia, South Carolina to interview my great grand Uncle Ashby Dick, regarding his WWII story. I found out that I had a cousin named Louis Fowler, who also had a WWII story. I basically divided my day up scheduling two interviews, concluding at Lou Fowler’s house that evening. He fed me dinner, and we started the interview at 9:30 PM.  He kept telling me more of his experiences, and we didn’t finish until 2:00 AM. Needless to say, I felt rather guilty the next morning about keeping him up that late. I began drafting the play on the flight home to New York.

Review Fix: What are your creative goals here?

Byers: This is an important story that needs to be told. I love a good inspirational story, and this is it. Now, I just want to share it with a larger audience. With only 5% of our WWII veterans alive today, these stories are disappearing with every life that is lost. I was overwhelmed by the effect this story had on me, and believe the public will be as well.

Review Fix: Who do you think will be affected by seeing Luft Gangster the most?

Byers: I think the baby boomer generation will certainly feel a sense of nostalgia, having parents from this WWII generation. Furthermore, I hope it will affect everyone. At the heart of this play is someone who simply persevered and never lost hope, amidst the daunting odds stacked against him. He persisted, and won his freedom back. I think this play reminds us just how lucky we are to have the simple freedoms we possess in everyday life.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Byers: This is a play to honor the “greatest generation,” but beyond that, I want to honor the brave men and women of our armed forces who, unfortunately, don’t return home. It’s not only about one man’s perseverance to come home, but all of them. It takes an unbelievable amount of bravery to go and fight in a war, especially when the odds are against you, as they were for the US at the beginning of WWII.

Review Fix: What’s next for you?

Byers: Myself and my Cloverleaf Collective group are working on a web series based on a high school reunion. I am co-writing the piece, along with the director and co-writer Jake Diamond. I’ll also be playing one of the roles. Past that, I have a few other projects I’m working on, new plays, as well as new film scripts. I love to create new work, and to surround myself with people I enjoy working with.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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