Silent Sky
by Lauren Gunderson
April 5 – June 23, 2018
With warm-hearted wit and infectious joy, Silent Sky tells the riveting true story of Henrietta Leavitt, a pioneering scientist in an age when women couldn’t even vote. Despite not being allowed to touch a telescope, Henrietta and her coworkers at the Harvard Observatory made ground-breaking discoveries about the universe that are still vital today, over a century later. If you liked the movie Hidden Figures, you won’t want to miss this “luminously beautiful play” that will change how you look at both the heavens and the earth.
LEARN MORE
Did you know that Lauren Gunderson is the most-produced playwright of the 2017-18 theatre season? Find out more about her at her own website: CLICK HERE.
Read the Post-Bulletin review: CLICK HERE.
Download a Study Guide for Silent Sky. CLICK HERE
Listen to an interview with director Adrienne Sweeney on WPR. (The audio file on the linked page contains two related interviews. To jump to Adrienne’s interview by Hope Kirwan, move the play head slider to 30:23): CLICK HERE.
BOOKS
The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel
Miss Leavitt’s Stars: The Untold Story of the Forgotten Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe by George Johnson
“Harvard ‘Computers’: The Women Who Measured the Stars” article at Space.com
VIDEOS
In this video from South Coast Repertory, playwright Lauren Gunderson discusses Henrietta Leavitt and her lasting contribution to the science of astronomy:
This 18-minute documentary describes Henrietta Leavitt’s contribution to astronomy, as told by astronomers and scientists with a historical perspective on her life and work:
Here’s a brief (4-minute) synopsis of Henrietta Leavitt’s life and work:
Silent Sky was sponsored in part by:
Photos from Silent Sky:
Click any image below for a slideshow. Photos by Jason Underferth, except for performance photo (starlight fills the theatre) by Peterson Creative Photography and Design.
