Fly Me to the Moon recounts the Apollo moon landing from the perspective

of the television audience. In 1969, television was still a relatively new media.
The Apollo mission was among the first events to be broadcast live around the
world to millions of people. In this play, a Massachusetts family comments on
the events as they watch them unfold on TV. The play uses the exact words of
Mission Control, the astronauts themselves, and the newsman Walter
Cronkite to recapture how it would have been seen and heard by viewers. It
includes the drama of the alarm light appearing on the Eagles instrument
panel, the suspense of landing upon the unknown substance that comprised
the moons surface, and the heroics of mans first lunar step.

The Play includes parts for 10 students. Its best suited for grades 4 through 6,
but can also be used with grades 3 and 7. Parts for Astronaut Collins and
Mission Control are designed to be delivered off stage and into a microphone. Some classes build a television
out of a cardboard box, cut out the screen, and place the student playing Walter Cronkite inside (be sure to
include those rabbit ears).

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Reproduction Rights: The original purchaser is licensed to reproduce one class set per year for use with his or
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Bubble Test Comprehension Activity (CCSs RL and RI items 1, 2, 3, 4, 10): many of these questions are
designed to invoke discussion. Have students cite evidence from the text when completing and reviewing.
Key: 1. c; 2. b 3. d (though they took photos, it isnt referenced in the play); 4. a; 5. d; 6. d; 7. c; 8. b (although
theyre all reasons for worry, the play is explicit only about b); 9. answers will vary.
Compare Explorers Activity has students do research and/or read three different plays to compare and
contrast Ponce de Leon, Lewis & Clark, and the Apollo 11 moon landing. There are two versions of the activity,
both with answer keys attached.
Vocabulary: Challenging vocabulary appears in boldface in the play and includes cosmonaut, inflation,
expedition, equivalent, enthralled, lunar, module, revolution, descent, tranquility, stark, desolation, and
indelible
Extension Activities:
Pair with informational texts about the Apollo moon landing, or about present day unmanned
exploration of Mars.
Build lunar module models. Research the dimensions and design elements of the module and build,
draw, or color scale models (see page 10 of this product for a coloring page for younger students).
View actual footage and photos from the mission, which are easily accessible via the Internet.
Research moon landing conspiracy theories and have students write or present persuasive arguments
for or against. Use it to teach students about vetting websites and other news sources.
Enact alongside other plays. Pair with Lewis & Clark and Bird Girl and Ponce de Leon and the Fountain
of Youth for an interesting compare and contrast of explorers from three distinctly different eras. (See
the Explorers Compare & Contrast activity attached). These play titles are available via
ReadAloudPlays.com.

2009 Mack Lewis. All Rights Reserved ReadAloudPlays.com Fly Me to the Moon -- Page 8 of 10

The Cast and Crew:
Tessour narrator as an adult
Walter Cronkitethe famous news anchor
The Astronuats Michael Collins, Neil
Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin
Mission Control
Young Tess our narrator as a child
Peter Tesss little brother
Mom & Dad
Scene 1
A Backyard in Worcester, Mass.,
Summer, 1969
TESS: Im not old enough to remember when the
Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the
first man to be launched into space. Or when John
Glenn became the first American to orbit the
Earth. But I do remember the first time mankind
set foot on the moon. I spent many evenings that
summer gazing at the stars.
2009 Mack Lewis. All Rights Reserved ReadAloudPlays.com
YOUNG TESS: The man in the moon came down
too soon to inquire the way to Norridge.
TESS: And so did my little brother, Peter.
PETER: Is there really a man in the moon?
YOUNG TESS: A shrewd old fellow is the man in
the moon. Look there, cant you see his face?
PETER: Where? I dont see anything. Theres not
really a man in the moon, is there?
YOUNG TESS: No, but the moon is made of
cheese.
PETER: Cheese?
YOUNG TESS: Yes, green cheese.
DAD: To bed, to bed, sleepy heads! Tomorrows
a big day.
TESS: It was true. The next day man was blasting
off for the moon. And in a sense, Peter and I were
going too.
Fly Me to the Moon -- Page 2 of 10
PETER: Is the moon really made of cheese?
DAD: The moon has always been mysterious to
us, Peter. Maybe we should ask the cow.
PETER: The cow?
YOUNG TESS: Yes, he would know. Hey diddle
diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped
over the moon . . .
DAD: Or better yet, maybe our astronauts will
unlock that mystery for us. Off to bed with you,
now. Its late.
DAD: Mr. Cronkite says it will take three days
just to get there.
PETER: Three days. Thats some jump. Did it
take the cow that long?
CRONKITE: Its just five minutes to the historic
launch of the Apollo 11, with all going well.
Astronauts Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and
Buzz Aldrin are sitting there atop the great Saturn
rocket.
YOUNG TESS: What do you think the astronauts
are feeling right now?

MOM: Im so worried for them. They must be

terrified!
Scene 2 TESS: Just two years before, three American
The Living Room astronauts were killed when their rocket caught
fire on the launch pad. Many people thought the
TESS: It was 1969, and not all was going well in space program would die too.
America. War and inflation had put the country
in a bad mood. We needed something to lift our DAD: I imagine theyre so focused on their duties
spirits and bring us together again. they dont have much time to be
frightened.
CRONKITE: Good Morning. Im Walter
Cronkite with CBS News. TESS: But we did. As Mission Control
counted down, we worried for the safety of
TESS: Around the the astronauts as if we
world, families gathered were on board with
in their living rooms to them.
listen to the famous
MISSION CONTROL:
newsman. Through what
Four minutes and counting.
they called the magic of
We are go for Apollo
television, we were about
Eleven.
to witness the greatest
expedition in history. CRONKITE: The engines
that generate the thrust of
CRONKITE: Its July 16th, the Saturn rocket have the
1969, and man is about to combined horsepower of 543
launch himself on a trip to jet fighter planes.
the moon with the expectation of landing there.
MISSION CONTROL: T-minus three minutes
PETER: How long does it take to jump over the and counting. T-minus three. We are go with all
moon? elements of the mission at this time.

2009 Mack Lewis. All Rights Reserved ReadAloudPlays.com Fly Me to the Moon -- Page 3 of 10
CRONKITE: The rocket contains 5,662,000
pounds of fuel, the equivalent of ninety-eight
railroad tank cars.
MISSION CONTROL: Power transfer is
complete. T-minus fifteen seconds. Guidance is
internal. Twelve, eleven...
TESS: We were enthralled. Around the world,
all eyes were fixed on the television.
MISSION CONTROL: Nine. Ignition sequence...
Six...
TESS: The engines roared to life. We held our
breath!
MISSION CONTROL: One. Zero. All engines
running. Lift off. We have lift off. Thirty-two
minutes past the hour, we have lift off of Apollo
Eleven.
TESS:
And
there
we were,
blasting
through the
sky. Television was flying us to the moon!
Even Walter Cronkite, the famous newsman,
seemed overwhelmed.
CRONKITE: Oh boy, it looks good. What a
moment. Man on the way to the moon. This is
certainly history in the making. Its as if were
standing on the dock waving goodbye to
Columbus.
TESS: But it was more than that. It was if we
were aboard the Santa Maria on a voyage to the
New World ourselves.
DAD: Hey diddle diddle . . .
YOUNG TESS: The cat and the fiddle . . .
2009 Mack Lewis. All Rights Reserved ReadAloudPlays.com
PETER (after a pause): What kind of cheese is it,
do ya think?
MOM: Well know soon enough!
Scene 3
The Living Room and the Moon
TESS: That Sunday, Mr. Cronkite signed on for
what would be the longest news broadcast in
television historythirty hours! Once again, we
gathered around the set.
PETER: Have the astronauts jumped over the
moon yet?
YOUNG TESS: Be quiet, Peter!
The lunar module is separating
from the command module!
MOM: They have jumped
over the moon, Honey. In
fact, theyve circled it
thirteen times!
CRONKITE: The Eagle has wings. Its
Sunday, July 20th and Im Walter
Cronkite. On the thirteenth revolution
around the moon, the Eagle lunar
module has separated from the
command module and is now
approaching the surface of the moon.
PETER: An eagle? What happened to the cow?
YOUNG TESS: Shhuss! Eagle is the name of the
ship thats going to land on the moon!
DAD: And Columbia is the name of the
command ship. It will keep flying around the
moon until its time to take the astronauts home
again.
Fly Me to the Moon -- Page 4 of 10
CRONKITE: Lets listen and watch as the lunar
module attempts to land.
MOM: Oh, he makes it sound so questionable. I
hope theyll be all right!
ALDRIN: Were go for landing. Hang tight.
Twenty-one hundred feet.
TESS: Suddenly, all our worries
became real fears. An alarm light
flashed on the Eagles instrument
panel.
ALDRIN: Twelve alarm. Twelve
zero one.
MISSION CONTROL: Roger.
Twelve zero one alarm.
YOUNG TESS: Whats
happening? Is Eagle in
trouble?
MOM: I dont know,
Honey.
MISSION CONTROL:
Continue, Eagle. The
program will reset.
ALDRIN: Roger, Houston. Were go. Two
thousand feet. Looking good. Down a half.
TESS: But we couldnt relax yet. The lunar
module was running out of landing fuel, and even
if the astronauts found a clear landing site, who
could know what would happen next?
MISSION CONTROL: Sixty seconds of fuel
remaining.
ALDRIN: Thirty feet, two and a half down.
Picking up some dust.
MISSION CONTROL: Thirty seconds
2009 Mack Lewis. All Rights Reserved
TESS: Then Peter asked the question that was on
all our minds. Though we knew the moon wasnt
made of cheese, its many mysteries had us
worried.
PETER: What if its soft cheese? Wont the Eagle
sink?
YOUNG TESS: Be quiet, Peter!
TESS: I didnt want to think of all the
possibilities. Would the lunar module
be swallowed in a cloud of poisonous
moon dust? Would it crash into
the moons surface?
ALDRIN: Six forward.
Drifting right.
TESS: Even Walter Cronkite
was silent. But then . . .
ALDRIN: Contact light.
CRONKITE: Man on
the moon!
ALDRIN: Descent engine
command override, off.
Engine arm, off.
MISSION CONTROL: We copy you down,
Eagle.
ARMSTRONG: Houston, Tranquility Base
here... The Eagle has landed.
MISSION CONTROL: Roger, Tranquility, we
copy you on the ground. You have a bunch of
guys here about to turn blue. Were breathing
again. Thanks a lot.
TESS: And so were we.
CRONKITE: Oh boy!
YOUNG TESS: Oh boy!
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