7/25/2023 0 Comments Defying gravity![]() ![]() ![]() I have the image in my mind of the smoke trail burned on TV.” Like many adults their age, the Wahlquists both have similar childhood memories of the day of the disaster.Īndrew, who grew up near the Rockwell aerospace plant and was only eight years old at the time, shares, “I don’t recall if I saw it live, but I was aware of it right away. With an extremely creative set design and multi-media features, the play was first presented three years ago in Downey to sold-out crowds, with playwright Anderson attending for a special Q&A session on the closing night. “From the moment we read it,” she said, “we thought this is it, we’ve got to do this play about the Challenger.” “It’s a beautiful, small theater.” She and her husband Andrew, who is serving as producer, began a search for appropriate plays and found Anderson’s “Defying Gravity.” “I knew I wanted to do a play there as soon as I saw the area out back,“ she explains. The Space Center occupies land that was once the site of the former North American/Rockwell plant which played a major role in the development of both the Apollo space program and the space shuttle.ĭirector Lana Wahlquist, who teaches theater at Cerritos College, recalls being captivated by the Space Center as a possible theater venue when she first visited. The Downey venue has special relevance for this California production. Schools had organized special science lessons and thousands of students were watching on live TV. The Challenger mission had sparked renewed interest by the public in space travel because it carried the first civilian crew member, teacher and mother Christa McAuliffe. The 1986 disaster was a pivotal chapter in U.S. Playwright Jane Anderson is an Emmy-winning writer whose themes of exploration, sacrifice, and risk remain relevant as modern society contemplates commercial space travel and sending people to Mars. While the subject of the play is the shuttle explosion after liftoff and the loss of the crew, the message is an affirmation of human courage and the quest for knowledge. This sensitive and inspiring drama about the tragic outcome of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle mission is presented as part of the Space Center’s City of STEM Science Festival, promoting student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Performances are scheduled over three weekends, from April 28 through May 14. The magic of live theater under the stars returns to Downey with an eight-night run of the Broadway play “Defying Gravity” at the outdoor amphitheater of the Columbia Memorial Space Center. ![]()
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