New play ‘The Rocket Men’ will unpack Cold War history at the Phoenix

Wernher Von Braun developed the Apollo Saturn V rocket for the United States as well as the V-2 rocket weapon for Nazi Germany. (AP photo)

Wernher von Braun was a full-fledged American celebrity in the 1950s, appearing on the cover of Time magazine and collaborating with Walt Disney on three TV specials based on space exploration.

People knew Von Braun as the Cold War-era rocket scientist who led the charge that culminated in NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

Playwright Crystal Skillman said her mother would describe Von Braun as “that beautiful gentleman with the silver hair who is a genius.”

Skillman’s new play, “The Rocket Men,” examines Von Braun in the full context of his life before coming to the United States in 1945. During World War II, he developed the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany.

Characters in “The Rocket Men,” a play featuring an all-female cast, confront Von Braun about his work on the V-2 and the human toll associated with producing that weapon.

“How the rockets were made matters,” said Skillman, who lives in Brooklyn. “We can hold that idea in our hands and also hold progress in our hands. That’s what the play attempts to do.”

In the play that opens Sept. 4 at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, Heinz-Hermann Koelle, a German scientist mentored by Von Braun, and Jewish engineer Sol Weissman (a character not based on a specific person) debate whether their boss is a hero or villain.

“Until recently, Von Braun’s story has been told as, ‘There was the past and there’s now,’’” Skillman said. “‘Now I’m an American, so I’m being used for good. I made that choice, and here we go.’”

Von Braun died in 1977 at age 65. Details related to his membership in the Nazi Party emerged after his death.

But even during Von Braun’s U.S. heyday, he was a controversial figure.

Satirical musician Tom Lehrer, who died this summer at age 97, wrote and recorded a song titled “Wernher von Braun” in 1965. Lehrer sang, “Don’t say that he’s hypocritical, say rather that he’s apolitical. Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? ‘That’s not my department!’ says Wernher von Braun.”

Skillman, whose previous work includes cosplay-themed play “Geek!” and a graphic novel based on Cartoon Network show “Adventure Time,” wrote “The Rocket Men” after visiting the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Huntsville was home base for Von Braun and dozens of other German scientists who were welcomed by the U.S. government because of their knowledge and experience related to V-2 rockets—a weapon that President Truman didn’t want in the hands of the Soviet Union.

Skillman wrote “The Rocket Men” for an all-female cast. The play begins with seven women visiting Huntsville’s Space and Rocket Center. They talk about the setting before stepping into the roles of Von Braun, Koelle, Weissman and other scientists—including Arthur Rudolph, who renounced his U.S. citizenship in the 1980s to avoid prosecution linked to his World War II actions as a Nazi.

The playwright said cast members relish the chance to portray men in a high-pressure environment.

“As a female actor, you don’t get to play these kinds of roles,” Skillman said. “You don’t get to step into this kind of swagger, certainly in that era. There is real delight and power.”

Von Braun is portrayed by Constance Macy, artistic director at the Phoenix.

Macy once acted in a Skillman play being developed during a New Harmony Project retreat in southern Indiana.

“I was just blown away by Constance’s work,” Skillman said. “It was amazing.”

“The Rocket Men” will be presented at the Phoenix as part of a rolling world premiere that launches in Indianapolis before visiting two other cities, Atlanta and Lincoln, Nebraska.

“The Rocket Men”

• When: Sept. 4-21
• Where: Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St.
• Tickets: $15 to $50
• Info: Visit phoenixtheatre.org.