Silent Sky
by Lauren Gunderson
The Naples Players, Florida, USA
Naples Florida Weekly Top Pick #SWFLTopPick
When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.
Director Emma Canalese
Writer Lauren Gunderson
Set Design Starlet Jacobs Sound Designer Kenneth May and Brad Vanhouten
Costume Designer Jake Cole Lighting Designer Craig Walck
Dramaturg Christina Hurtado-Pierson Stage Manager Lisa Nuccio
Original Music by Andrew David Sotomayor
Performed by Tina Moroni, Katie Callahan, Pamela Austin, Esther Snyder, Bernardo Santana
Photography by Neubek Photographers
