Curtain Call Theatre Presents “Silent Sky”

The next show in Curtain Call Theatre’s (CCT) 2023-2024 season is “Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson on March 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 8:00 PM and March 3 and 10 at 2:00 PM.

Directed by Michael Pevzner (Kingston) and starring actors Elizabeth Lovley (Whitman), Toni Ruscio (Weymouth), Rena Pemper-Rodriguez (Hyde Park), Hannah Clifford (Medford), and Amos Byrne (Quincy), “Silent Sky” shines a light on a few of the most extraordinary, and under-recognized, women in history. The story highlights Henrietta Leavitt who, through hard work and persistence, challenges early 20th century bias against women in science and becomes the first person to measure the universe.

Said director Michael Pevzner, “ When I first read the play, ‘Silent Sky’, I was struck by the excellent playwriting, but even more by the fascinating subject matter. The play is about the unsung scientist Henrietta Leavitt who, in the early 1900s, made a revolutionary leap in the world of astronomy. But, because she was a woman in what was a man’s domain, society knew little to nothing about her great accomplishments.”

He continued, “In the play, audiences travel with Henrietta, played by actress Elizabeth Lovley, from her family homestead in Wisconsin to the hallowed halls of Harvard and beyond. I feel our actors tell this story with sincerity, humor, and passion. And I just love Jim Gross’s (Weymouth) wonderful set design, Ed Krasnow’s (Bridgewater) stunning projections of the stars and galaxies, and the evocative music soundtrack. We truly hope our production of ‘Silent Sky’ will live up to the words of the theater critic who called it ‘…a life-affirming small treasure that is lovingly brought to the stage.’”

CCT Artistic Director, Toni Ruscio, who also plays Annie Cannon in this production, added, “It is an honor to bring Annie Cannon to life on the Curtain Call Theatre stage. This space is so intimate and really serves the story we are telling. I love that Annie is a smart and talented scientist and that she was a suffragist. In fact, I’m not sure which of those to accomplishments I love more! While it is impossible to highlight all the women who worked as ‘computers’ at the Harvard Observatory, Lauren Gunderson has written a beautiful and powerful story that highlights a few of them. And this story needs to be told. It’s because of the work these women did that other scientists were - and are - able to make their own discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. Those amazing women ultimately laid the foundation for space travel and that, for me, is so exciting!”

Tickets for “Silent Sky” cost $22 each and can be purchased at www.curtaincallbraintree.org. Curtain Call Theatre is located at 182 Commercial Street, Braintree, Ma.

ABRIDGED BIOS ON THE FEMALE ASTRONOMERS FEATURED IN “SILENT SKY”

Henrietta Swan Leavitt Abridged Bio:

Henrietta Swan Leavitt published many of her findings in her lifetime, including a pivotal paper entitled, “Periods of 25 Variable Stars in the Small Magellanic Clouds”, which noted a pattern she found in the Cephid stars. These findings reinvigorated the astronomical world and provided the foundation for astronomers like Shapely and Hubble to measure just how huge and fast-moving our universe is. In 1921, Leavitt was named Head of Stellar Photometry at the Harvard Observatory, but she died shortly thereafter.

Annie Jump Cannon Abridged Bio:

Annie Jump Cannon published many of her findings during her time as an astronomer, including a catalog of 1200 variable stars. She revised work started by Williamina Fleming and created a system of star classification that was

adopted as a standard by the International Solar Union in 1910 and which is still used today. Her many awards and honors include an honorary membership into the Royal Astronomical Society (1914), In addition, she was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Oxford University (1925); she was the first woman to receive the U.S. National Academy of Science’s Henry Draper Medal (1931); and she was the first woman elected as officer of the American Astronomical Society.

In addition to her contributions on the scientific front, Cannon was a suffragist and a member of the National Women’s Party; as such, she helped to secure women the right to vote in America. And in 1923, Cannon was voted one of the 12 greatest living women in America by the National League of Women Voters.

Williamina Fleming Abridged Bio:

Born in Dundee, Scotland, Williamina Fleming emigrated to Boston in 1887 with her husband James. James abandoned Williamina and their then-unborn child, but instead of giving up she went to work as a maid for the head of the Harvard Observatory, Edward Pickering. Legend has it that one day Mr. Pickering was frustrated with the mistakes being made by the male assistants and said, “My Scottish maid could do a better job.” So, he brought Williamina Fleming to Harvard and trained her to do the work that had originally been assigned to the men. Fleming went on to train and supervise more than 50 female “computers” and develop a new system of star classification. In 1899, she was named Curator of Astronomical Photographs, the first official position ever granted to a woman at Harvard. During her illustrious career, she cataloged thousands of stars and discovered over 310 variable stars and 10 novae. In 1906, she was made an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society, the first woman to receive that honor. Her publications include, “A Photographic Study of Variable Stars” (1907) and “Spectra and Photographic Magnitudes of Stars in Standard Regions” (1911).