Summary and Production
History:
The
Expanding Sky
is a new musical about the true story of Milton Humason, who dropped
out of school after the eighth grade to live in
California
. He worked as a bellhop, laborer and muleskinner, driving a team of
pack mules up and down the mountains near
Pasadena
. While hauling the equipment for the construction of the Mount
Wilson Observatory in 1905, he fell in love with Helen Dowd, the
daughter of the head electrical engineer on the project. He stayed
on as a janitor, then became a night assistant. He showed such
aptitude, he eventually became an observer and worked alongside
Edwin Hubble and together they made a discovery that changed the way
we look at the cosmos.
The Expanding Sky was
originally
commissioned and developed by The Ensemble Studio Theatre / Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. Charlotte
Playwright Stan Peal was awarded a commission in 2004 by the EST/Sloan Project for the work,
and the first draft was featured in a professional concert reading
at EST’s First Light Festival in
New York
May of 2005. The first draft was 45 minutes with 7 songs.
The fully developed script, now 90 minutes with
14 original songs, was first produced in
Charlotte
, NC by Epic Arts Repertory Theatre, featuring Lou Delassandro and
Cindy Barringer as Milton and Helen Humason. Also contributing to
the production were Musical Director Marty Gregory, Choreographer
Annette Saunders, Set Designer Chris Timmons, Light Designer Hallie
Gray, and local artist Osiris Rain.
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