A Woman’s Cosmos In A Man’s
World
By Tom Wachunas
Without waxing too
technical about the specifics of Henrietta Leavitt’s (1868-1921) contributions
to our knowledge of the cosmos, suffice it to say that in her tireless work as
an astronomer at Harvard College Observatory in the early years of the 20th
century, she essentially paved the way for deciphering how we determine the age
and size of the universe. Inspired by Leavitt’s life, playwright Lauren
Gunderson’s Silent Sky is a truly
remarkable accomplishment. Gunderson’s lovingly crafted masterpiece of
equipoise is an emotionally gripping look at an insatiable pursuit of arcane
science amidst equally compelling yearnings of the human heart. For a more
comprehensive look at the play and its history, here’s a very useful link:
On the cusp of
Women’s History Month, this current production is directed by Brian Newberg,
Associate Professor of Theatre & Theatre Director of the Kent State Stark
Theatre Program. He has assembled a sharp and sensitive ensemble of five gifted
individuals who deliver a wondrously nuanced performance, replete with both
pathos and humor that’s, well… stellar
in every sense of the word. Even the elegant simplicity of the scenic design by
Louis Williams – with a stage set made up of a few pieces of furniture and a
raised, railed platform that doubles at one point as the deck of and ocean
vessel – is often infused with projections of starry nights and Milky Way
panoramas.
The timeline is
1900-1920. Cashing in her dowry, Henrietta Leavitt (Morgan Brown) leaves her
home where she’s been living with her musician sister, Margaret (Emily Weiss),
and father, a Congregational Church minister, to live her dream of doing
serious research as an astronomer at Harvard College Observatory. There, she’s
quickly mortified and frustrated to
learn that she was hired only to count stars and measure their luminosity as
recorded on glass plate photographs made by the grand telescope which women are
not allowed to use. She and her co-workers, Annie Cannon (Breanna Morton) and
Williamina Fleming (Jacki Dietz), are regarded by their male bosses, including
their immediate supervisor, Peter Shaw (Jesse Fulks), simply as “human
computers” – bean counters, as it were. Ever undaunted – even obsessive - in
her insistence on finding the truth and meaning of her/our place in our galaxy
(and beyond, as it turns out), Leavitt discovers not only significant physical
realities, but much about herself as well. The education of head and heart. Just so, she sacrifices much,
in the process eschewing society’s traditional expectations of romance and
domestic family life.
Imagine the cast as
a solar system, with Morgan Brown’s radiant portrayal of Leavitt as the center,
holding the other characters – luminous entities in their own right – in orbit.
Brown is not just believable, but also wholly magnetic as she articulates
Leavitt’s longing and struggle to affirm her identity in an unsympathetic,
indeed oppressive patriarchal milieu. She forges an increasingly sturdy bond
with her office colleagues. Breanna Morton, as Annie, is at first a distant and
demanding taskmaster, but visibly softens as her understanding of, and support
for, Leavitt grows. No doubt her softening is greatly aided by Jacki Dietz’s
charismatic portrait of the feisty, no-nonsense Williamina. In her startlingly
authentic Scottish accent, Dietz provides many of the evening’s wisest
observations and funniest passages.
Meanwhile, Jesse
Fulks, often a target of the ladies’ ridicule, brings an exquisitely crafted
awkwardness and shyness to his reading of Peter Shaw, apprentice to the
observatory’s head scientist, Dr. Pickering. His respect for, then infatuation
with Leavitt, blossoms into a matter of
the heart, the hope of a nervous suitor, as he at one point asks her, just
before embarking on a research trip to Europe, if they could “…continue the
experiment of our mutual compatibility” when he returns. So OK, he’s a scientist, not a poet. Still,
this play has as much if not more poetry than astrophysics.
Through it all,
Emily Weiss convincingly presents Leavitt’s sister, Margaret, as a faithful
homemaker while caring for their ailing father. Gentle and patient if not
occasionally resentful, she’s the picture of sincerity as she desperately tries
to grasp the depths of her sister’s impassioned search for answers to cosmic
questions.
In fact it’s
Margaret’s playing a lilting melody on her piano that spurs Henrietta to
ultimately see the music of the spheres, as it were… to discern an order and
pattern to those puzzling pulses of light visible from across impossible
distances. The play concludes on a bittersweet albeit tender note. It’s an
altogether inspiring remembrance of Leavitt’s legacy.
More importantly, in
these volatile times, the play is a timely beacon and an urgent reminder. Gender
bias should never be permitted to squelch our pursuit of knowledge, the
affirmation of our purpose, or the realization of our destinies.
Silent Sky, at Kent State University At
Stark Theatre / Located in the Fine Arts building on Kent Stark campus, 6000
Frank Ave. NW in North Canton / Performances
Feb. 25, March 3 & 4 at 7:30 p.m. / Feb. 26 & March 5 at 2 p.m. /
Tickets: $10 for adults and $7 for non-Kent State students and senior citizens.
All Kent State students admitted free of charge with current student ID. For
more information about the show and ensemble members, or to reserve tickets
online, go to www.kent.edu/stark/theatre
or call the Kent State Stark Theatre Box
Office at 330-244-3348, Mondays through Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m.
TOP
PHOTO, left to right: Emily Weiss, Jesse Fulks, Jacki Dietz, Morgan Brown,
Breanna Morton
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