Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb, an American aviator, was the first woman to pass astronaut training in the early 1960s. However, when the now-famous men of the Mercury Seven went to space, she and other women of the Mercury 13 were excluded from the program due to their gender.
To recount Cobb’s story, Laurel Ollstein, a Los Angeles-based playwright, director and actress, wrote the play “They Promised Her The Moon” in 2017.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Theater and Dance will be performing “They Promised Her The Moon” in the Loft Theater from April 15-24 under the direction of guest artist Kent Thompson, this year’s Roe Green Visiting Artist.