Featuring the students of the Department of Theatre

Written by Lauren Gunderson
Direction by Marlee Koenigsberg

When Henrietta Leavitt begins to 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 possibility of love.

The true story of 19th-century astronomer Herietta 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.

*The 2:00 p.m. performance of Silent Sky on Saturday, October 7, will be open captioned for deaf and hard of hearing patrons. Open captioning is made possible through Adelphi’s Center for Health Innovation.