Pontine Theatre Stages Jay O'Callahan's FORGED IN THE STARS This Weekend

Jay O'Callahan will perform Forged in the Stars at Pontine's West End Studio Theatre, located at 959 Islington Street in Portsmouth NH. This production is underwritten by Piscataqua Savings Bank and accommodations are provided by the Martin Hill Inn. Jay has performed at Lincoln Center, Dublin's Abbey Theatre, the Olympics, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and on National Public Radio. Time Magazine has called his work "genius." He performed Forged in the Stars at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and received a standing ovation for this brilliant work, and has since performed at Kennedy Space Center, Ames Research Center, and Johnson Space Center. Performances are: Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 4:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. Tickets are $24 and may be purchased in advance online: www.pontine.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door (cash or check only) a half-hour prior to each show, based on availability. Contact Pontine at info@pontine.org or 603-436-6660.

Three years ago, NASA commissioned world-class storyteller, Jay O'Callahan to create and perform a story to celebrate the space agency's 50th anniversary. O'Callahan was given the unique challenge to tell what NASA is, what it has accomplished, and why it's important in our culture and time.

Forged in the Stars, features the stories of three prominent NASA personalities: J.C. High Eagle, a NASA engineer of Cherokee Indian heritage whose childhood dream was to help men land on the moon; astronaut Neil Armstrong in the 1969 Apollo moon landing; and the poignant story of New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died in the space shuttle Challenger disaster. Further, the story explores the wondrous journey of the twin Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 with the goal of exploring Jupiter and Saturn, and continuing on to this day to places no other spacecraft has ever explored.

Jay O'Callahan, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, is an internationally renowned storyteller. He has performed in the United States, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand. Time Magazine called O'Callahan "a man of elegance, wit and poetry."