Jerrie Cobb steps into an isolation tank. For the next nine hours, she will be tested for her mental fitness to go into space – in tests emulating those taken by the astronauts who took off as a part of the Mercury 7.
Already an incredibly seasoned pilot, Cobb passed this test, and all others put in front of her, as they were administered in the early 1960s. Still, she and the other 12 women who passed the same physical examinations as the Mercury 7 astronauts never made it to space.
Now, Cobb’s legacy is being brought into the spotlight, as Starkville Community Theatre prepares to stage the play, “They Promised Her the Moon,” at 7 p.m. Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 19-21 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 16, starring a woman walking in Cobb’s footsteps.
Caroline Court is a senior aerospace engineering major at Mississippi State University, who said Cobb’s legacy opened the door for her to pursue her own dreams of one day going to space. Now, she is preparing to step on stage to tell a version of Cobb’s story centered around those record-breaking nine hours Cobb spent in the isolation tank.
“I read through the script and I just felt like (auditioning) was something I needed to do,” Court said. “Not a lot of people get to portray someone that laid the foundation for what they want to do their whole life.”
Show director Melanie Tubbs met Court through the audition process. She said Court is an excellent actress and a fantastic fit to tell Cobbs’ story.
“I could not have ever dreamed of finding Caroline,” Tubbs said. “She came to auditions and she was great. Then when I called her for the role, she was just over the moon, I guess you could say, about the character and the play. And she, of course, is an aerospace engineering major … and she’s delved into this character and books about this character.”
Court said she knew about the Mercury 13 before she heard about the play, since she spent last summer working in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. As tour groups came into the building, she said, she taught them about the Mercury 7 and Mercury 13 groups, though she said the women’s story was always a sidenote.
“I knew a couple of their names, but I didn’t know Jerrie’s name in particular,” Court said.
Court said she has learned to relate to Cobb in many ways throughout the rehearsal process. A lot of the lines written for Cobb, she said, feel “like something that would come out of my vocabulary.” Cobb’s ambition for space flight, she said, also feels familiar.
“I’ll do anything to get up into space,” Court said. “I want to be in the rocket. And everything that she says about it, and how passionate she is about it, it’s very easy for me to portray because it’s something that I’m passionate about as well.”
‘Clarity of purpose’
Balancing a community theater rehearsal schedule with school can sometimes be a challenge, but it’s one Court has enjoyed as a way to remind her of the art in aerospace. On a typical day, Court said, she may be attending spacecraft propulsion classes at 9:30 a.m. By 6:30 p.m., she is suiting up in her costume – a jumpsuit to portray Cobb.
Court is joined by her fellow cast members Regan Plunkett, John Gilbert, Pat Wooden, Joe Evans, Louie P. Gallo and Mary Katherine Munn, bringing the impactful story to life, Tubbs said.
SCT Executive Director Gabe Smith said he is excited the organization gets to bring the lesser-known play and history to the stage.
“We love getting the opportunity to tell stories that look back to the past and can tell us something about today and about how to fight through adversity with clarity of purpose,” Smith said. “History is full of trailblazers whose names we don’t know, and this story celebrates someone whose legacy lives on, despite the obstacles unfairly placed in her path and prejudices our society still struggles to overcome.”
In 1962, when the unofficial program for women to be tested like astronauts was shut down, Cobb took her situation to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. But the committee took no action. Still, that did not stop women from making advances in aviation and aerospace.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, and Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle in 1995.
Mayor Lynn Spruill was the first female Naval aviator to land on an aircraft carrier in a fixed wing aircraft. While she has not seen the show herself, her company, Spruill Property Management, is sponsoring SCT’s production of “They Promised Her the Moon.”
Spruill said she is “delighted” the group decided to include the show in its current season.
“I’m really pleased that they saw value in bringing this forward, and I’m very excited that the actress, the lead … is also engaged in that avenue of professionalism of women in aviation and women in science,” Spruill said.
The show is also funded in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Tickets are $20 for general admission, with $15 discounted tickets for students and for active military. Tickets can be reserved by leaving a voicemail at the SCT box office at (662) 323-6855 or bought online any time at starkville-community-theatre.ticketleap.com/promisedmoon.
If seats are still available on the date of a performance, the office will open for walk-up purchases an hour before showtime.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
