In February 1958, when rocket scientist Wernher von Braun appeared on the cover of Time magazine with a missile launching behind him, he was hailed as the visionary leading America into the Space Age and helping the nation outpace the Soviet Union.
A few years earlier, in 1955 — the same year Disneyland opened its futuristic attraction Tomorrowland — von Braun had starred in a Walt Disney’s television special “Man in Space,” helping to popularize the once-fantastical dream of space travel.
But von Braun had a darker history, one largely obscured from the American public by the U.S. government and military agencies.
Discovering that history was the catalyst that compelled New York-based playwright Crystal Skillman to write the script for “The Rocket Men,” onstage at Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre through Nov. 2 as part of a three-stage rolling world premiere through the National New Play Network.
A few years earlier, in 1955 — the same year Disneyland opened its futuristic attraction Tomorrowland — von Braun had starred in a Walt Disney’s television special “Man in Space,” helping to popularize the once-fantastical dream of space travel.
But von Braun had a darker history, one largely obscured from the American public by the U.S. government and military agencies.
Discovering that history was the catalyst that compelled New York-based playwright Crystal Skillman to write the script for “The Rocket Men,” onstage at Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre through Nov. 2 as part of a three-stage rolling world premiere through the National New Play Network.
