Look to the Stars

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of October Sky to kick off its 2017/17 season. Based on the 1999 movie, which starred a young Jake Gyllenhaal, this inspirational musical tells the story of how one boy's future was changed forever by the 1957 launch of Sputnik, an event which sparked a lifelong obsession with space and led him to join NASA. An ode to science and the joy of discovery, October Sky's book was written by Pulitzer and Tony winner Marsha Norman ('night, Mother, The Secret Garden) and features a resounding score from Michael Mahler (Diary of a Wimpy Kid).

WHAT IS OCTOBER SKY ABOUT?

It's the late 1950s and for two young boys growing up in West Virginia, their futures are pretty much sealed - they'll follow in their father's footsteps and continue working in the local coal mines. But when the very first Sputnik makes its way across the heavens, it lights up more than just the night sky, for Homer and his brother's imaginations are lit with the possibility that there might be more waiting out there for them.