When Jerrie Cobb describes her destiny of a life in the sky, she speaks longingly of breathing the same air that the angels breathe. She wasn’t lost in those billowy and moist clouds, mind you — she just had no desire to be found.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s stellar production of “They Promised Her the Moon” is a highly stylized piece featuring a terrific script penned by Laurel Ollstein, directed with intricacy and texture by Giovanna Sardelli. The script delves into the compelling legacy of Cobb, a woman who was too driven to be limited by the earth she treads upon.
A young girl who had trouble speaking due to being literally tongue tied, Cobb’s desire to fly was much more than a simple career goal. Hers was a divine, celestial longing that made her one of the youngest and most accomplished aviators in history.
Cobb (Sarah Mitchell) receives mixed messages from her parents. Her father Harvey (Dan Hiatt), a former pilot, encourages his daughter to seek the life she desires, despite the fact that her mother (Luisa Sermol) is a traditionalist, encouraging her to focus on making a happy home for her future husband.
Housewife was never going to be the career choice Cobb would accept for herself. But she didn’t have to focus on being the ultimate pioneer, because that was handled by Jackie Cochran (Stacy Ross), a racing pilot savant who broke the sound barrier in 1953.
While people like Cochran and World War II veteran Jack Ford (Craig Marker), who owned a worldwide aircraft ferrying service, provide opportunities for Cobb, her dream of passing the sky and landing on the moon seemed ready to grasp, or so she thought. She was chosen for Mercury 13, a group of women who went through the same physiological testing as male astronauts.
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