“They Promised Her the Moon is educational, historically important and hugely entertaining. Every element and detail are captured perfectly and in such a nurturing atmosphere, amazing theatre is created.”
by Steve Murray Mar. 10, 2020 Broadway World
The dream of flight is timeless, but for seven-year-old Jerri Cobb, the desire is powerful, obsessive and perhaps even attainable. Laurel Ollstein‘s dramatization of the true story of world record holding aviator Cobb and her female peers in the Mercury 13 astronaut training program is an illuminating, sometimes humorous and bittersweet account of the race to empower female pilots and the wall of misogyny they encounter in pre-ERA America.
Buoyed by the recognition of the 2019 Regional Tony Award and the added impetus of this being Artistic Director Robert Kelley’s finale season, TheatreWorks has seriously cranked up the quality level, They Promised Her the Moon being another stellar production in this 50th season. An All-Star cast is led by Sarah Mitchell as Jerrie Cobb, who originated the role in TheatreWorks’ 2018 New Work Festival. Joining her is Anthony Fusco as Dr. Randy Lovelace, another New Works alum, as the flight surgeon who created the training programs for male Mercury astronauts and developed the tests for potential female candidates. He’s joined by fellow stage, film and television star Stacy Ross as the rich, assertive and legendary aviator Jackie Cochran.
Adding to the embarrassment of riches is Craig Marker in a variety of roles (pilot and businessman Jack Ford and John Glenn), Luisa Sermol reprising her role as Jerrie’s religious mother, and local favorite Dan Hiatt as Jerrie’s uber-supportive father Harvey. Giovanna Sardelli, who directed TheatreWorks’ productions of Archduke (2019) and Finks (2018), does a master job of imagining Ollstein’s script with brilliant storytelling highlighted by stellar performances and exquisite technical embellishments.