The Mercury 13

MaxQ Productions—MTYP – Richardson Hall

The real life inspiration for the play is an extraordinary group of women pilots who hoped to be included in the Mercury space program. Unfortunately, through NASA’s lack of belief in their ability to do the job, fueled by the male test pilot environment, they did not get a chance to prove themselves. The story mostly centers around Jerrie Cobb, the first woman to be tested as the male Mercury astronauts were, and Jacqueline Cochran, the first woman to break the sound barrier and who funded the initial round of testing. The show’s author used a number of historical sources to create it and the show program is a great source of information about all the women and the space race of that time.

While the individual performances were good, I think the play itself was kind of clunky. There are many quick short scenes throughout, some of which had to be setup by moving tables or other props around, and sometimes the setup lasted just as long as the scene. There are also some longer scenes, such as a back and forth letter communication between Cobb and Cochran which seem a little awkward and drawn out. Near the end we see a Congressional hearing on NASA’s discrimination, which I believe was based on actual transcripts, to show some of the ingrained culture the women were up against. The hearing also shows they were also fighting an unexpected enemy as well. The play concludes with the completely opposite way in which the Russians selected their first female Cosmonaut. Perhaps the story is a little too big for the format and time available in a live Fringe show which makes it hard to convey completely.

Murray Hunter