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Photos: CRYSTAL SKILLMAN’S THE ROCKET MEN Premieres at Phoenix Theatre

The new play launches as part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

By: Sep. 24, 2025

Phoenix Theatre recently presented the first production of THE ROCKET MEN by Crystal Skillman, directed by Chris Saunders, as part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Check out photos of the production.

The cast featured Jaddy Ciucci, Karla “Bibi” Heredia, Jennifer Johansen, Constance Macy, Jolene Mentink Moffatt, Charlie Rankin, and Milicent Wright. The creative team included Lighting Design by Laura E. Glover, Set Design by Robert M. Koharchik, Projections Design by Katie Phelan Mayfield, Costume Design by Anthony James Sirk, and Sound Design by Jason Tuttle, with Props by Kristin Renee Boyd, Stage Management by Danielle Buckel Klein, and Assistant Director & Understudy Amanda Rooksberry.

Skillman’s play transports audiences through time and space to explore the moral and human costs of scientific discovery. Six women embody the German scientists who fled Nazi Germany and settled in Alabama, ultimately forming the backbone of the American space program. As their stories unfold, the play interrogates the legacy of innovation built on compromise and asks urgent questions about who is remembered in history, and who is erased.

THE ROCKET MEN continues its Rolling World Premiere with upcoming productions at Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and Angels Theatre Company in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Photo Credit: Phoenix Theatre



Regional Awards
Indianapolis Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1. XANADU (Red Barn Summer Theatre)
18.9% of votes
2. BE MORE CHILL (Eclipse Theatre Co)
9.6% of votes
3. CAROLINE, OR CHANGE (Footlite Musicals)
7.3% of votes

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