{"product_id":"hello-from-the-children-of-planet-earth-paperback","title":"Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDon X. Nguyen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"Outer space and inner space, the nebula and the womb: As playwright Don Nguyen observes, cosmic exploration shares some salient features with quests for human conception. (Like: No matter how much data you have, each voyage is a total unknown.) The analogy isn't new, but Nguyen explores it with an endearing sincerity in HELLO, FROM THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH, a...space drama about family-making and personal risk.... Nguyen's piece is an invitation to value impossible odysseys, no matter where they might end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e HELLO, FROM THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH shuttles between two long-term partnerships: Betsy and Shoshana are a couple who long to be parents, while William and Freddy are bro-colleagues at NASA charged with tracking the legendary space probe Voyager I. William and Betsy were high-school BFFs, but haven't spoken in seventeen years-until the women, exhausted from a series of miscarriages and expensive IVF treatments, contact him out of the blue as a potential sperm donor. William is flattered and terrified. He's been single and career-focused for decades, and Voyager, roaming outer space since 1977, is the closest he's got to a dependent. He considers the possibility (then excitedly acquiesces) over the course of several awkward get-togethers, including one that features Freddy as a loud, jokey wingman; too many margaritas; and some confusion over whether calamari is made from octopus or squid.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Meanwhile, in a series of fantastical interludes, a figure called The Farthest Explorer, clad in shimmering robes and bedecked in LED lights-a human embodiment of the Voyager-reports on her journey to the outer reaches of interstellar space. Strapped to her chest is Carl Sagan's famous Golden Record: a collection of earthly sounds, music, and multilingual greetings, sent into the cosmos in hopes of fostering communications with extraterrestrial beings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHELLO, FROM THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH is an...engaging ode to personal growth. ...it's hard not to root for Nguyen's celebration of unconventional family-which, here, extends from Betsy, Shoshana, and their potential child to include a sperm donor and his close friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The play's central comparison is between a fetus and a space probe, and its central drama follows the agonizing wait for communications from both: news about the pregnancy's health, news about the Voyager's arrival in the interstellar zone.... Nguyen's play [wi]ll lead you onto familiar ground with compassionate humor.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMiriam Felton-Dansky, The Village Voice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 78\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.16 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 26, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56198338347313,"sku":"9780881459579","price":22.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1004\/9532\/7537\/files\/Kbq-cZTlKi9780881459579.webp?v=1788992945","url":"https:\/\/mitchellofficial.com\/products\/hello-from-the-children-of-planet-earth-paperback","provider":"MITCHELL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}