The Desire of the Astronaut explores the enduring myth and popular iconography of the astronaut through the fictional story of Esteban Only, the last Boricua in space. Drifting on a dying spacecraft with only intermittent contact with Earth, Esteban undertakes repairs that may facilitate his rescue or accelerate his court martial on grounds of insubordination.
This highlight of Pregones/PRTT's 2024 Spring Season also serves as a capstone to Associate Artistic Director Alvan Colón Lespier’s four decade tenure with Pregones. Re-imagined for the stage at The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, the production boasts an entirely new design, new musical arrangements and a new cast of performers.
Inspired by autobiographical accounts and actual training missions by NASA personnel, and rich with the sights, sounds and surprises of classic science fiction, The Desire of the Astronaut conveys longing, fear, despair and love, while in extended periods of isolation in a hostile environment. It probes physical thrills and depths of emotion known only to those who have experienced zero gravity and extreme isolation through space travel.
Stranded in the U.S. Wanderer, an old space station locked in orbit around the planet Mars, Esteban Only’s only human contact—via intermittent, static-ridden radio communications—is fellow astronaut Emily Kinson, whom he hopes will help him find his way back home to Earth. When her voice breaks through the noise one last time, does it bring the news he so desires?
