On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University in which he famously said:
“We shall send to the moon 240,000 miles away, a giant rocket, more than 300 feet tall on an untried mission to an unknown celestial body and then return it safely to Earth. But why some say the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why 35 years ago fly the Atlantic? We choose to go to the moon. We chose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone. And therefore, as we set sail, we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure that man has ever gone.”
And on July 21, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface.
But did you know that Buck Rogers, Snoopy and the Red Baron helped us get there?
That’s the story told by “The Blue Sky Boys,” a comic adventure making its southeastern premiere at Florida Studio Theatre.
“Although people know how the story ends, I don't think a lot of people know about the intrigue, particularly in the scientific community,” said Florida Studio Theatre Associate Artist Ben Liebert.
President Kennedy’s challenge landed in the hands of a team of maverick engineers once considered the misfits of American science. With no rulebook, they embraced “blue-skying,” drawing inspiration from Buck Rogers, Greek myths, Louis Leakey, and even Snoopy and the Red Baron. Each takes human form and makes an appearance in the play.
“Galileo's in the play. Buck Rogers is in the play. Icarus, Snoopy, the Red Baron,” Liebert noted. “It's really fun to bring all these characters in (13:10) because they're all inspirational.”
Audiences are in for an additional treat. Because Director Richard Hopkins is working with the playwright, Deborah Brevoort, to refine the characters and script, this production is tantamount to a world premiere.
“Because it's a new play, we're helping to develop it,” said Liebert. “So the version that gets seen here at FST will not have been seen before.”
This imaginative joyride is set to spark a sense of wonder in audiences. Previews began Jan. 21, with the show officially opening Jan. 23. Performances run through March 8 in FST’s Gompertz Theatre.
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The Times Union calls “Blue Sky Boys” one giant leap “intergalactically rewarding” and “overflowing with playfulness and humor.”
BroadwayWorld hails the show as “entertaining, humorous, and, to put it simply, magnificent,” declaring, “it’s safe to say that Houston, we have a hit.”
“At its heart, The 'Blue-Sky Boys' is a story about visionaries who refused to be constrained by the limits of what others believed was impossible,” said Richard Hopkins, producing artistic director of FST and director of the production. “It is playful, imaginative, and deeply entertaining, but it also resonates powerfully with our present moment.”
The play will be performed against the backdrop of the 10-day Artemis 2 mission, which would be a huge step toward Americans once again setting foot on the lunar surface.
On Jan. 17, NASA rolled its towering orange and white SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft onto the Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. If pre-flight tests are all satisfactory, three Americans and one Canadian will head to the moon sometime between Feb. 6 and the end of April. Although they won’t land on the lunar surface, they will fly around the moon before returning to Earth.
China is also planning to land humans on the moon no later than 2030. Its uncrewed 2026 Chang'e 7 mission will explore the moon's south pole and test Mengzhou spacecraft.
“The play reminds us that progress is rarely born from consensus or caution; it comes from daring ideas, restless curiosity, and the courage of unconventional thinkers willing to imagine a future no one else can yet see,” Hopkins added.
Hopkins has directed over 40 productions in FST’s five theatres and has received numerous awards, including the Arts Leadership Award from the Sarasota Arts Council and the Richard G. Fallon Award for Artistic Excellence from the Florida Professional Theatre Association.
The “Blue Sky Boys” cast includes:
- Greg Balla as Buck Rogers/Dr. James Towers/Tycho Brahe/Icarus (“The Cottage”);
- Danny Bernardy as Jed Berman (“Shear Madness,” “Alabama Story,” “Spamalot,” “The Underpants”);
- Gil Brady as Apollo/Louis Leakey/Snoopy (“Don’t Dress for Dinner,” “The Outsider,” “Pictures From Home,” “Shear Madness,” “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Outside Mullingar”);
- Howard Kaye as Galileo/The Red Baron/Reporter (“The Lehman Trilogy,” “The Cancellation of Lauren Fein,” “Tom Jones”);
- Patrick Noonan as Howard Haggerty (“Advice,” “Spamalot,” “Irma Vep”);
- Johnny Shea as CJ Caldwell (“Ugly Lies the Bone”); and
- Kraig Swartz as Vencel Von Volp (“Something Rotten,”” The Legend of Georgia McBride,” “Visit Joe Whitefeather,” “Pictures from Home”).
Making up the creative team is Richard Hopkins (director), Isabel & Moriah Curley-Clay (scenic design), Rob Perry (lighting design), Nicholas Christensen (sound design), Janice Pytel (costume design), Dylan Uremovich (projection design), Shira Lebovich* (AEA stage manager), Ashley Nolt (stage management intern), and Lexy Hatch (assistant to the director).
"The Blue-Sky Boys" is part of FST’s three-show winter mainstage subscription, which also includes “A Tailor Near Me,” a tale of connection and self-discovery; and “Birthday Candles,” a touching and humorous exploration of what it means to be alive.
Subscriptions are on sale now for as little as $79, and single tickets start at $39.
For more information, visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org or call (941) 366-9000.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
