Apollo's Mission by Edward Lambert

Countdown
We noted the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and wanted to write a piece constructed around the mission that would identify as a light opera or musical. Our themes were science and imagination. When the two come together, you can fly to the moon.
We were amazed to discover that Buzz Aldrin celebrated communion on the moon. We asked: how far would we have to travel into space before reaching the gods? At first we thought Jesus might appear in response, but then decided we needed a baddie.
There was plenty of material in the flight recordings, and even the jargon is rather poetic.
We personified the moon in the character of Selena, the moon goddess, who, in Greek mythology, was destined to watch over humans by night. Hence, nowadays, she sings in a nightclub where she has her admirers.
In our fantasy world, nightclub and space travel fuse together. Both transport us to other worlds. Passion, fire, burning, flashing, thrusting, etc; the desire, the energy which fuelled the mission - and drives humans to great achievements.
But then, if Selena’s space is invaded when the astronauts land, what about the principle of consent? Not very well established in 1969; the planting of the US flag violates her.
Selena has a brother, the sun-god Apollo. In contrast to his little sister, he moves in the upper echelons of society. But he’s a dickhead - which happens to be the name President Nixon was known by. For Presidential stupidity, we didn’t even need to look that far back.
Apollo’s a guy who shoots first and asks questions later. He's meant to come to her rescue when she’s been invaded, but finds himself powerless. The situation stalls in an ‘Ensemble of Perplexity’ (aka Rossini).
Kennedy’s aspirational speech is recalled by Armstrong and turned into a finale.
Selena understands that humans are no longer bystanders in space. Apollo is confined to a museum because he won’t yield to progress, while Selena, her mysteries revealed, is released from the nightclub to continue her singing career elsewhere.
A prologue and an epilogue hint at the latest theory of moon creation - colliding planets - in contrast to the ancient myths on the subject in which Heaven and Earth got together to produce their child, Selena.

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