The Desire of the Astronaut – 2024

Book, Lyrics and Direction by Alvan Colón Lespier
Music by Desmar Guevara
Dramaturgy by Rosalba Rolón
Additional texts by Emily Dickinson and Scott Fitzgerald

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.

Artwork for The Desire of the Astronaut by Jeison Rivera.

About the new 2024 staging:

This highlight of our 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.

The Story: 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?

Of the 2023 new and re-envisioned staging, Alvan Colón Lespier shares:

“Today more than ever, bringing a formidable idea to the theater stage requires focus, adaptive capacity, and good friends. The Desire of The Astronaut has been a true collaborative process just like all the works I have been fortunate to helm at Pregones over the past 40 years. In this particular case the task would have not been possible without the creative output of composer Desmar Guevara, and the two formidable allies that have accompanied me on this journey: Emily Dickinson and Francis Scott Fitzgerald. And above all, I am proud to say this production is grounded on the aesthetics of Pregones Ensemble, influenced by the collective creation process that evolved in Latin American theater.” 

Performed in English and Spanish with titles.
Duration: 1 hour and  10 minutes, with no intermission.

In-person performances at
THE PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER
304 W 47th St, between 8th & 9th Avenues
in Manhattan

Buy your tickets early online. Link below or at top of page.

GENERAL TICKETS: Starting at $25

BEST PRICES: BECOME A MEMBER and get deep savings for the entire season! When you buy a one year $45 tax-deductible membership to Pregones/PRTT you obtain 25% discount for up to two (2) tickets per event this season.

New! TICKET BUNDLES: See both of our remaining Mainstage shows and save — available now by phone only 718-585-1202. Previews Bundle $46: 1 (one) Orchestra Ticket for each of 2 (two) Spring Mainstage productions on first week of performances; two (2) tickets total. Premium Bundle $70: 1 (one) Premium Orchestra Ticket for each of 2 (two) Spring Mainstage productions on any other week of performances; two (2) tickets total. Please note: Bundles are not tax deductible. Other offers and discounts do not apply.

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Tickets starting at $25!