Shandi Sturgill

I’d like for you to take a little trip back in time with me, dear reader. When I was in my junior year of High School I learned about Rocket Boys the Musical. I can’t remember exactly how, but I want to say it’s because Homer had posted on facebok about the Huntsville reading. I went to the musical’s website, had a listen to the music, and fell in love.

Fast forward to 2011 and a moment I thought would never happen happened. I found myself sitting under a West Virginian sky, the same sky those 6 boys launched their rockets into so many years before, watching the world premiere of Rocket Boys the Musical. In 2012 I was there again, and in 2015 I was in Georgia watching for a third time.

I have heard people refer to their favorite musical as theirs. And I have always felt that this show was my musical. This is the only show I have been able to see develop. Seeing the production in 2011 is what renewed my love of acting, and persuaded me to transfer schools.

And that’s why I can’t get behind this new show. It’s stepping over the years and years of work the creative team of Rocket Boys did. I’m no expert on copyright laws, and I know you can’t copyright ideas, but there are some, dare I say, fishy similarities. For example Rocket Boys has a song titled “Build a Rocket” and October Sky has a song titled…wait for it..”.We’re Gonna Build a Rocket”. Granted with the same subject matter similarities are bound to exist. However, that’s my problem with the whole thing. Did the writers of October Sky not do their research and see that a musical had already been written? If they did why did they feel they needed to create another? Why did Universal green light a second musical? And don’t even get me started on the similarities of the posters.

I read a comment on the article Variety ran about October Sky which stated the Rocket Boys was more like a nice high school production. I don’t know which production this commenter watched clips from, but the way the show stands now in 2015 I would say it’s a damn good musical. My biggest complaint is that the cut Valentine’s song “No Girls Allow’d”, but my love for Valentine and her role in the show is another post for another day.

The production at the Legacy was far from being at an amateur level. But for me it isn’t about which production is best. For all I know October Sky could be the best new musical since Hamilton, and I couldn’t care less about it. Because the creative team of Rocket Boys deserves to be honored. They have worked for a decade on this show, and since they are following the book their the ones following Homer’s story authentically.