A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Defying Gravity

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  4w, 3m

Jane Anderson

This free-structured look at the 1986 Challenger disaster, in which a teacher and six others died as they hurtled into space, explores our need to reach beyond ourselves and dare the universe.

Defying Gravity

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Suggested Use
    • Cutting Approved for Competition
    • Monologues
    • Scene work
    • Competition or audition material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
This free-structured look at the 1986 Challenger disaster places the teacher who died with six others as they hurtled into space at the center of an exploration of our need to reach beyond ourselves and dare the universe. Defying Gravity artfully interweaves the past with the present and the lives of participants and bystanders, drawing parallels among painter Claude Monet's artistic quest, the zest of the teacher selected to the first civilian astronaut, the perspectives of her grieving daughter, the aspirations of elderly tourists who drive their Winnebago to Florida to watch the space shot and dream of hotels in space, the guilt felt by a NASA mechanic, and his girlfriend's fear of heights.
History
Defying Gravity premiered off-Broadway at The American Place Theatre on November 2, 1997. Directed by Michael Wilson and produced by Daryl Roth, the production featured Candy Buckley, Sandra Daley, Alicia Goranson, Jonathan Hadary, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frank Raiter and Lois Smith.
Keywords
Performing Groups
ELIZABETH – A 5-year-old, played by an adult
TEACHER – Her mother
MONET – The painter
C.B. – A mechanic on the NASA ground crew
DONNA – A bartender in a Cocoa Beach hangout, African American
BETTY & ED – A retired couple in their 60s
  • Time Period New Millennium/21st Century, 1980s
  • Setting 1986 and 20 years later.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Cautions
    • Flying
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“[A] clever and uplifting fantasy... about art, religion and the outer limits of human possibility.” – The New York Times

“Flies high in its attempt to describe man's fascination with space and its conquest... you will certainly not be bored.” – New York Post

“[A] clever and uplifting fantasy... [with] ear-catching musings about art, religion and the outer limits of human possibility.” – The New York Times

“A lovely piece... It floats gracefully in the big blue yonder of the imagination... letting Anderson's delicate, tender and human attitude toward her characters come through... One by one, they rise out of their earthbound selves... to look down on the world from a new perspective.” – New York Daily News

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $130 per performance

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Authors

Jane Anderson

Jane Anderson

Jane Anderson is an Emmy Award-winning writer and director for theatre, film and television.

Plays include: Mother of the Maid, The Baby Dance, Baby Dance: Mixed, Defying Gravity, Looking for Normal, The Quality of Life, The Escort, Lynette at 3AM, Food & Shelter and The Last ...

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