Had to share this letter I received – touched my heart [emphasis added below]:

Good morning!  I’m a high school educator currently producingThey Promised Her the Moon for UIL One-Act Play competition in Texas. I also happen to live an hour and a half from the WASP museum in Sweetwater. I’m writing to thank you for your beautiful script. It may seem goofy to write a fan letter to a prestigious playwright, but I’m a big believer in telling people who’ve made a difference that they’ve done so. So here we go:

 

Thank you for this beautiful script. It has illuminated and enlivened history for my students in a way they’ll never forget.

For research, we took our students to the WASP museum in Sweetwater where they were able to see planes that were the same models mentioned in the script, see the personal belongings of the WASP (including Jackie Cochran’s cosmetics!!), and learn a great deal about Jackie and her cohorts. It was life-changing for some of them to realize the sacrifices women made to do this difficult job against the wishes of an extremely misogynistic society, and to realize what they were capable of. Students from small-town, rural Texas need female role models who had big dreams and overcame obstacles to achieve them, and that is what you gave them.

We also have a young pilot (soloed for the first time a month ago) in the cast, playing “Pilot” and “John Glenn,” and he is loving teaching us about how the planes work, what’s realistic and what isn’t, etc.

My students — especially the two playing Jerrie and Jackie — are newly inspired and are telling the story with so much love and passion. They won Best Performer awards last night (out of roughly 80 students present!), and we placed first in our contest.

We hold you, Jerrie, and Jackie personally responsible. I’m attaching a few photos in case you’re interested.

A Few of the Posters for
They Promised Here the Moon Across the County