Photo Flash: OCTOBER SKY Launches West Coast Debut Tonight at The Old Globe

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of OCTOBER SKY, which will blast off the Globe's 2016-2017 Season with a tale of boys, rockets, and big dreams. OCTOBER SKY will run tonight, September 10, through October 23, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run now through September 21. Opening night is Thursday, September 22. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company below!

Inspired by the beloved 1999 Universal Pictures film and Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr., OCTOBER SKY features a book by Drama Desk nominee Brian Hill (Broadway's The Story of My Life) and Aaron Thielen (Hero) and a score by Michael Mahler (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). OCTOBER SKY is directed and choreographed by Joseph Jefferson Award winner Rachel Rockwell (Brigadoon, American premiere of Ride the Cyclone) and produced in association with Universal Stage Productions (Wicked, Billy Elliot: The Musical, Bring It On: The Musical).

Starring as Homer Hickam is Kyle Selig, a rising star in the theatre world who recently took on the role of Elder Price in the smash Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. Playing his father, John Hickam, is San Diego local Ron Bohmer, whose extensive credits include the Broadway musicals A Little Night Music, Ragtime, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and LES MISERABLES, as well as originating the role of Percival Glyde in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. Taking the stage as Elsie Hickam, Homer's mother, is Kerry O'Malley, a stage and screen veteran whose Broadway credits include On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Billy Elliot, and the Baker's Wife in the acclaimed 2002 revival of Into the Woods directed by James Lapine, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.

Also featured in the stellar cast of OCTOBER SKY are Rebecca Bellingham of San Diego (A Child's Christmas in Wales Off-Broadway) as Mary Bykovski, Joel Blum (two-time Tony Award nominee, Kiss Me, Kate at the Globe) as Ike Bykovski, San Diegan Will Branner (Music Theatre Wichita's Jesus Christ Superstar and Mamma Mia!) as Buck, James Royce Edwards of San Diego (creator and star of That Bachelorette Show Off Broadway) as Jake, North County nativeSteve Gouveia (Jersey Boys original Broadway cast) as Earl, Kevyn Morrow (current Tony-winning revival of The Color Purple) as Ken, San Diego native Austyn Myers (LES MISERABLES on Broadway, Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Globe) as O'Dell, Destan Owens(Rent, Chicago, Smokey Joe's Café on Broadway) as Bathtub Amos,Eliza Palasz (Rob Ashford's Carousel at Lyric Opera of Chicago) as Dorothy, Liam Quealy (Off Broaday's Dear Edwina) as Jim, Patrick Rooney (Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Rent in Chicago) as Roy Lee,Connor Russell (world premiere of Disney's Aladdin) as Quentin, San Diego actor Lance Arthur Smith (over a dozen San Diego regional credits) as Otis, Betsy Stewart (Ilse in Marriott Theatre's Spring Awakening) as Emily Sue, Nick Sullivan (original Broadway companies of Newsies and Footloose) as Mr. Turner, and Ensemble members Nicolette Burton of San Diego (Putting the Pieces Together at 54 Below), John Cardoza (Seymour in Summer Rep's Little Shop of Horrors), San Diegan Clay Stefanki (Miss Saigon internationally, The Grinch at the Globe), Scott Wakefield (Globe's Bright Star, Broadway's Hands on a Hardbody), and Angela Wildflower(Motown on Broadway).

The design team is comprised of Kevin Depinet (Scenic Design), Linda Cho (Costume Design),Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design), Garth Helm (Sound Design), Shawn Sagady (Projection Design), Charlie Alterman (Music Director), Bruce Coughlin (Orchestrations), Courtney Cerny(Assistant Director and Associate Choreographer), Howie Cherpakov, CSA (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Stage Manager). Due to a scheduling conflict, MarSha Norman, previously announced to join the creative team, has instead served as a creative consultant to The Old Globe production.

The Old Globe's 2016-2017 Season launches into orbit with the new musical OCTOBER SKY, inspired by the beloved 1999 movie, which itself was based on a true story. In the sleepy town of Coalwood, West Virginia, school is just something you do until you're old enough to work in the coal mines. After the Soviets launch the Sputnik rocket, a local high schooler named Homer decides to enter a rocketry competition against the wishes of his domineering, practical-minded dad. With the help of his friends and the local community, he just might light up the night. OCTOBER SKY is a musical slice of small-town Americana packed with youthful exuberance that will send your heart soaring and inspire you to reach for the stars.

Tickets to OCTOBER SKY start at $36 and go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 12 at 12:00 noon. Ticketscan be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 234-5623, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

Photo Credit: Jim Cox

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