No wait, that wasn’t said right, “HOUSTON, we HAVE a problem.”
I had the joy of taking 3 boys to see Apollo 13 Live at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts last night. Created by Kip Chapman and Brad Newstubb, this was a live take on the mission of Apollo 13, a story of bravery and quick thinking from 1970 that brough 3 astronauts home despite major complications. When you first check at Rhoades center, you are welcomed to Houston, given a console badge or a press badge. The waiting area for the show was filled with memorabilia from that mission and our country’s space problem, which meant giving the boys a history lesson as we looked at old pictures, watched old footage, and touched artifacts.
This show is meant to put the guest right in the middle of the action. Guests are seated in either press seats around Mission Control or in front of a console in Mission Control. Either way you feel a part of the action, once the show begins, you are treated as part of it. The best seats, a little bit more expensive, but well worth it, are the Console seats, giving guests a chance to work buttons, speak lines, or become part of a TV interview. Jason White and Sam Berkley are great as commanders while Ashleigh Hawkins provides some awesome comic relief as himself. Of course, Gareth Williams as Walter Cronkite was a great way to get information out and keep the show moving along.
One lucky guest was chosen as the “third” astronaut for the mission. It was great to watch them think they were coming in for a show, then put with actors, Ben Van Lier and Byron Coll as astronauts and play a astronaut for the length of the show. The show happens around you, the best entertainment in the expressions of audience as they were called to play parts they didn’t know they were playing, how they ad libbed when asked a question. One of my favorites was to our astronaut, Mary Beth when asked “So how much training have you had for this mission,” and her answer, “Well Walter, very little if nothing.” She was also great acting when they were in an antigravity situation. Our audience went from hesitantly saying lines, to everyone jumping from the chairs and cheering with each success. This is a show you can very easily get caught up in.
The script was well written from the news stories brought to us by Walter Cronkite, our astronauts on screen, and the events of Mission Control. This is a great time for the family, and to show how much the boys liked it, one commented at the end, “How did they get back from outer space so quick.”
Apollo 13 Live is running in Winston Salem through February 10th. Seating for the consoles is limited, so get your tickets early. Visit their website www.apollo13live.com
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