A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? — -Robert Browning
By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — Deep underground in a coal mine, life is precarious. Explosions are not uncommon and black lung disease is ever present. As in the song 16 Tons, the people owe their souls to the company store. “The Company” puts food on your table. The Company owns your house. Even the school principal is a company man. The school exists to give these kids just enough education to send them down into the mines, not ascend to a brighter future. Such grim prospects inspire longing to get out –to go anywhere there’s “more.”
On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite. The space race was on. The principal wants them to practice “duck and cover” in case of a “nucular” attack. (on West Virginia?) Rather than pretend a wooden desk would protect them from radioactive fallout, their teacher, Miss Reilly, wants them to be inspired by this new miracle of science. Sandra DeNice plays Miss Reilly as a force to be reckoned with. She doesn’t want her students to just do their best, but demands that they do better.
Homer Hickam is that bright-eyed youth who shines with hope and ambition. Like most dreamers, his family responds with blank stares. But Kyle Selig is just the actor to make us believe that a small town boy can fly out of a mine to reach the stars.
Homer and his friends try their hands at launching homemade rockets. A blue ribbon at the national science fair could earn them scholarships –their only hope of getting into college. But no scientific endeavor goes off without a hitch. It takes many trials and tenacity in the face of discouragement. To pull this off, they need the help of Quentin, played by Connor Russell as the quintessential nerd, and Mr. Bykovski, the company machinist.
When they need pure liquid alcohol to mix into their fuel, that’s when Destan Owens has his moment, lighting up the house in “Moonshine.”
Homer’s ambitions put him at odds with his father. John Hickam is a coal miner, like his father, who expects his son to carry on the legacy. Ron Bohmer plays him as a complicated man, deeply devoted to his family but reserved in his affections. A man of few words, he projects a rock-like hardness to hide the deep pain within.
Get ready to fall in love with Kerry O’Malley as Elsie Hickam, Homer’s mother. Loving and strong, she is an artist without artifice as she watches her son get lost in his bright dreams and faces losing her husband in his dark, coal-dusted reality. Miners’ wives are painfully aware that every kiss could be the last kiss good-bye. They pull our heart strings as they sing the sentiment in beautiful harmony.
The music of October Sky is a mixture of Aaron Copland’s grand Americana, folksy bluegrass and nascent Rock n’ Roll. But more than that, it’s the kind of toe-tapping, spirit-lifting, family-friendly musical that we remember from the Golden Age of Broadway. So bring any young dreamers in your life to the Old Globe. October Sky will inspire them to work harder, keep trying and reach for the stars.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)
Saw the show last night. Thought it was lovely. I didn’t see anything in the show that would lead me to believe they were making fun of the people of West Virginia. It made it seem like a lovely place and a strong community of people that care for one another. I would highly recommend it!
— Mandy Patinkin
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Please be aware that I have sued to remove my name and my family’s name from this unauthorized (by me) production and that its producers have done their best to destroy me financially and emotionally while also interfering with my life’s work as a writer. Very little of the content of this show is based on fact. There were no scholarships. My father did not want me to work in the mine. I did not quit school and work in the mine. Schools were excellent and life in Coalwood was good. 80% of the students in my school went to and graduated from college, paid for by their parents or by working their way through. For more information, please go here: http://homerhickamblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-struggle.html