IN DEVELOPMENT: New Horizons
New Horizons is a fun and heartwarming educational musical for young audiences written by Aliza Rabin and Kristen Rea.
It follows the lovable little planet, Pluto, as he arrives starry-eyed for another stellar day at his dream job -- being a planet! But Pluto struggles to keep his life in orbit after learning he's been demoted from Planet to Dwarf Planet by the IAU and told to "pack his moons and go." With nothing but the memory of his super-famous ex co-workers and sheer under-dog optimism, Pluto doesn't lose hope. He believes that with patience, NASA's New Horizons space probe will eventually help him prove to Earthlings that he deserves to be back in the spotlight -- as a real Planet! But as time passes and Pluto settles in, he meets all the other Dwarf Planets and celestial objects in the Kuiper Belt and becomes friends with them through the super-fan Dwarf Planets Makemake and Haumea. Little does Pluto know that his best friend, Neptune, has simultaneously convinced the rest of the "real" planets to help get Pluto back. Neptune figures out that by working together as a team, they can use their gravitational pull to slingshot that little New Horizon's space probe all the way to the Kuiper Belt and shave years off the mission timeline! The brave little New Horizon space probe doesn't disappoint and surprises Pluto with exactly what Pluto has been waiting for: a spacecraft full of tools and cameras ready to show the world all the amazing things Pluto has to offer. But all this time getting to know the world outside Planet HQ has taught Pluto a valuable lesson: Life is more than just fame and a big fancy office. Pluto realizes that he is the real New Horizon and can use his fame for good -- to introduce the world to all his new friends in the Kuiper Belt and beyond!
MUSICAL NUMBERS
(Music clips coming soon!)
"Another Stellar Day"
"Spinning"
"Little Planet, Big Heart"
"New Horizons"
"Another Stellar Day (Reprise)"
ABOUT NASA'S NEW HORIZONS MISSION
New Horizons is a NASA mission launched in 2006 as part of NASA's New Frontier program. The New Horizons mission involved sending the New Horizons space probe to study Pluto, its moons, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. The mission has been extremely successful and continues to send photographs and other data that are still expanding what we know about our solar system. Want to learn more? Visit NASA's New Horizons' website.
THE TEAM
New Horizons was conceived by Aliza Rabin and Kristen Rea, with book and music by Kristen Rea and Lyrics by Aliza Rabin. Aliza and Kristen met and wrote the piece in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in NYC. They are both huge nerds and think planets are the best, especially Pluto.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
A reading of a short version of New Horizons was performed at BMI in the spring of 2019. The writing team is currently seeking a collaborative partnership with members of the New Horizons' team at NASA & Johns Hopkins' University to expand the work into a full-length musical that incorporates actively unfolding scientific discoveries in a heartwarming and funny musical theatre package.
OPPORTUNITIES
For inquiries, please contact the writers here.