NEW JERSEY STAGE Tuesday September 30, 2008

Cosmic questions by Peter Filichia/The Star-Ledger

Defying Gravity. Where: The Theater Project, Union County College, 1033 Springfield Ave., Cranford.
When: Through Oct. 12. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
How much: $22. Call (800) 838-3006 or visit brownpapertickets.com.

"Defying Gravity" may be the most famous song from "Wicked," but it really should be known, first and foremost, as the title of an excellent play.

In 1997 -- six years before that bewitching musical came to Broadway -- Jane Anderson wrote a tender, touching and heart-wrenching drama about the 1986 Challenger disaster. Eight years ago, it was such a success at the Theater Project in Cranford that artistic director Mark Spina chose to revive it. This wise decision is matched by his current, well-paced production.

Though the Challenger is specifically named, Christa McAuliffe, the doomed high school instructor from Concord, N.H., is not. Anderson simply calls her by her occupation: The Teacher. This allows Anderson to change a few facts so her play isn't perceived as a docudrama.

Harriett Trangucci is utterly charming as The Teacher. She easily fields questions from her grade-school pupils, and when she senses that they don't quite understand, she finds a new analogy to let them see the light. One might assume Trangucci had some wonderful teachers who provided the inspiration.

Yet the play's main character is Elizabeth, The Teacher's now-adult daughter, who is looking back on the horror of Jan. 28, 1986. Jenelle Sosa excels in the role, showing that Elizabeth is still emotionally shut down from this unforgettable event. Sosa earns our sympathy for Elizabeth, who, as a 6-year-old, suddenly feels neglected when her mom becomes a media celebrity. How could we not be moved by the assumption this child makes when her father tells her that Mommy has "gone to heaven": She thinks it is simply part of the Challenger mission and that her parent will one day return from there, too.

Representing the thousands who come to watch the Challenger launch are Betty and Ed, a longtime married couple. Too long, if you ask Ed, who's been bored with Betty for decades, though she's never noticed. As Ed, Jeff Maschi appears totally mortified whenever his wife talks to some stranger -- that person will see what a silly woman he married. Yet Angela Della Ventura is an endearing Betty because she zestfully seizes every opportunity to learn something new.

DaaimahTalley plays a Cape Canaveral barkeep, while Andre DeSandies is a customer intent on sexually harassing her. Talley is wonderfully stoic as she recalls the last night that all seven happy astronauts frequented the tavern. In another role, as a NASA spokesman, DeSandies is quite moving when he reads a letter to Elizabeth apologizing for the mission's failure. When he halts at the difficult parts, where he must come to terms with his responsibility, he makes an audience take pause, too.

Gary Glor portrays Monet -- yes, the Impressionist painter. Anderson believes if space travel can defy gravity, it can make a mockery of time, too. In a lovely manner, Glor describes his wish to travel the galaxy so he can paint that perspective of the Earth. While "Defying Gravity" suggests that art could profit from science, science has certainly profited from Anderson's work of art.

Peter Filichia may be reached at pfilichia@starledger.com or (973) 392-5995.