The Blue-Sky Boys

When President Kennedy announced that America would send a man to the moon, the job fell to a group of maverick engineers who, until that moment, were the outcasts of the American scientific establishment. Thrust into the limelight and lacking a road map for accomplishing the President’s mandate, this group developed an unorthodox, imaginative process called “blue-skying.” They turned to inspirations such as...
When President Kennedy announced that America would send a man to the moon, the job fell to a group of maverick engineers who, until that moment, were the outcasts of the American scientific establishment. Thrust into the limelight and lacking a road map for accomplishing the President’s mandate, this group developed an unorthodox, imaginative process called “blue-skying.” They turned to inspirations such as Buck Rogers comic books, stories from Greek mythology, Louis Leakey’s writings on paleontology and fictional and historical characters such as Snoopy, Galileo, Icarus and the Red Baron.

The Blue-Sky Boys dramatizes the “encounters” between NASA’s Apollo engineers and these characters and the imaginative leaps that were taken to get to the moon. A story about the intersection of creativity and science, The Blue-Sky Boys is a comedy/drama in two acts with an all-male cast. It was originally commissioned by the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science and Technology project.
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The Blue-Sky Boys

Recommended by

  • Sheila Curran Bernard:
    10 Jan. 2018
    This is a smart, funny, fast-moving, exciting and ultimately thought-provoking play -- I saw an excellent production at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany. Highly recommended.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Barter Theatre, Appalachian Festival of New Plays
    ,
    2009
  • Workshop
    ,
    Orlando Shakespeare Theatre/PLAYFEST
    ,
    2008
  • Reading
    ,
    Ensemble Studio Theatre First Light Festival
    ,
    2005
  • Reading
    ,
    Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ocktoberfest Festival
    ,
    2005
  • Commission
    ,
    Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project
    ,
    2004

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Capital Rep Theatre, Albany, NY
    ,
    2016
  • Professional
    ,
    Barter Theatre, Abingdon, VA
    ,
    2010

Awards

Galileo Prize
,
Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science and Technology Project
,
2003
Winner
,
Appalachian Festival of New Plays
,
Barter Theatre