Story Of Earliest Female Astronaut THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON Announced At TheatreWorks

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California Premiere of Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her The Moon. This riveting play shares the incredible, true story of Jerrie Cobb, a world record-holding female aviator who dreamt of flying among the stars. At the height of the Space Race, Cobb and her female peers in the Mercury 13 program trained to become astronauts, ready to join their male counterparts in space and change history, but they never got the chance. A favorite from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 2018 New Works Festival, They Promised Her The Moon will be directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Associate and Director of New Works Giovanna Sardelli.

They Promised Her The Moon will be presented March 4 - 29, 2020 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. For tickets (starting at $30) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.orghttp://TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

They Promised Her The Moon's Off-Broadway Premiere was presented by Miranda Theatre Company, of which The Huffington Post said, "This story of strength and resilience is beautifully told in this insightful play." Receiving workshop productions in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's New Works Festival and Old Globe Theatre's Powers New Voices Festival, the 2019 West Coast Premiere at the Old Globe Theatre was called "impressive" by The San Diego Union-Tribune, claiming "Sardelli's smartly resourceful production pulses with a sense of the theatrical." The Vista Press lauded the play as "a uniquely staged glimpse of a part of NASA's history few people have ever heard of."

TheatreWorks has assembled a stellar cast for this production. Originating the role of Jerrie Cobb in TheatreWorks's New Works Festival, Sarah J. Mitchell makes her TheatreWorks mainstage debut as the record-holding astronaut candidate. Mitchell has also performed at San Francisco Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, Shotgun Players, Berkeley Playhouse, Cutting Ball Theater, and New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Originating the role in TheatreWorks's New Works Festival, Anthony Fusco plays Dr. Randy Lovelace, a flight surgeon who created tests used to select the male Mercury astronauts and developed the research program for testing potential female astronauts. Also seen in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's reading of Nan and The Lower Body, Fusco makes his TheatreWorks mainstage debut in They Promised Her The Moon. Fusco has been seen on Broadway in The Real Thing and Roundabout Theatre Company's The Real Inspector Hound, and his Off-Broadway credits include A Life in the Theater, Holy Terror, and Man and Superman. A Bay Area Theatre veteran, Fusco is a Resident Artist at American Conservatory Theater and has performed at leading theatres including Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Marin
Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, and Magic Theatre. His film credits include Francis Ford Coppola's Twixt, Hollywood Pictures's Quiz Show, Paramount's True Colors, and 20th Century Fox's Highlander. He has appeared on television shows including "The Sopranos," "Law and Order," LA Law" and "The Wright Verdicts."

Returning to TheatreWorks where she was seen in Sense and Sensibility and Dolly West's Kitchen, Stacy Ross plays Jackie Cochran, a legendary aviator, businesswoman, and wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). A veteran performer, Ross has acted onstage at the Bay Area's leading theatres, including American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, Magic Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and Aurora Theatre Company. Her film and TV credits include "Nash Bridges" and "America's Most Wanted." Craig Marker plays Jack Ford, a veteran pilot.

Marker returns to TheatreWorks, where he was seen in last season's Frost/Nixon, as well as Third, Theophilus North, Brooklyn Boy, Dolly West's Kitchen, and Shakespeare in Hollywood. Marker has also performed at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, and the Barbican Theatre.

Originating the role of Jerrie's mother Helena Cobb in TheatreWorks's New Works Festival, Luisa Sermol returns to TheatreWorks where she played Sladjana in last season's production of Rajiv Joseph's Archduke. Sermol's Broadway credits include Roundabout Theatre Company's Hamlet. She has performed at theatres across the country, including Lincoln Center Theatre, Classic Stage Company, Portland Center Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, City Light Theatre Company, and Hillbarn Theatre. Sermol's Film and TV credits include roles on NBC's "Grimm" and TNT's "Leverage." Originating the role in TheatreWorks's New Works Festival, Dan Hiatt plays Jerrie's father Harvey Cobb. Recently starring as master storyteller Mark Twain in this season's Mark Twain's River of Song, Hiatt returns to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley where he was also seen in Upright Grand, The Pitmen Painters, The 39 Steps, and Twentieth Century. He has performed at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Festival, Marin Theatre Company, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Pasadena Playhouse.

For information or to order tickets visit theatreworks.org or call (650) 463-1960

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