‘Grounded’ at American Blues Theater: Boom! goes the rocket blast, and pilot’s life implodes

Review: The pilot, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, is a proud lone wolf, happiest up there in the wild blue yonder, at the controls of an F-16 homing in on targets in the midst of a Middle East war. Yet there’s a mentionable wrinkle. The Pilot in playwright George Brant’s monodrama “Grounded” is a woman. Gwendolyn Whiteside, the producing artistic director of American Blues Theater, suits up and steps out front to portray a human being who thinks she knows herself – only to discover her true humanity in both the sweetest and the most devastating terms. ★★★★