The Town Players of New Canaan Presents Rocket Girl, a Story of the Space Race and America’s First Female Rocket Scientist

The Town Players of New Canaan will present Rocket Girl for a three-weekend run beginning February 21 at the Powerhouse Theater in Waveny Park.

The year is 1957. As the race to launch the world’s first man-made satellite heats up, the United States finds itself woefully behind the Soviet Union in space technology. Rocket Girl, written by George D. Morgan, tells the story of his mother, Mary Sherman Morgan, a poor farm girl with only a high school education, who became the only woman on a team of 800 engineers and developed the formula for Hydyne, the fuel America used to launch its first satellite into space.

“I was excited to be asked to direct Rocket Girl because telling the story of Mary Sherman Morgan will help challenge a cultural norm and inspire the next generation of young women to explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM),” says Carin Zakes, the play’s director.

“When we celebrate and raise up examples of successful women in STEM careers, young girls can begin to imagine themselves following in their footsteps.”

Sally Rose Zuckert plays the title role of Mary Sherman Morgan, and the supporting cast includes
Jessie Lizotte, Jeremy Funke, Eric Dino, Mat Young, Ellie Desautels, Mario Fuentes, Chris Cooney, Steve Benko, Shelley Lepetich, Peter Haynes, Autumn Howard, Ann Peterson, and Rachel Schulte.

Performance will take place February 21, 22, 27, 28, and March 6 and 7 at 8 p.m., and February 23 and March 1 and 8 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are now available by calling 203-594-3636 or via the web at www.tpnc.org. Talk backs with the playwright, George D. Morgan will follow the February 28 and 29 and March 1 performances.