The Kalamazoo Civic Theatre opens Silent Sky, Lauren Gunderson's play about astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, on Nov 6. It runs through Nov 15 in the Parish Theatre. Director Mike Artis and cast members Sarah Lynn Roddis and Elizabeth Bullmer preview the production in a conversation with Cara Lieurance.
Leavitt was one of the women "computers" who charted the sky from photographic plates at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s. Her work on variable stars helped show that the universe is far larger than the Milky Way. Even so, these women were treated as clerical workers and kept away from the telescope.
"While it sounds very sciency, it's actually quite an emotional show," Artis says, pointing to its love stories: Leavitt's love of the sky, of her family and of a man.
Roddis plays Leavitt. She first read the script because a friend urged her to, and she was hooked. She says the story still rings true today.
"I am a woman currently working in a predominantly male industry. I still face these problems today," Roddis says.
Bullmer plays Williamina Fleming, a Scottish immigrant whom Dr. Pickering hired as a housekeeper. When he found out she was educated, he made her the first Harvard computer, and she went on to identify the Horsehead Nebula. Bullmer is a poet and a massage and sound therapist who acted at the Civic as a girl. She returns to the stage after decades of raising her family.
She says Fleming welcomes Leavitt as a colleague. "I think the relationship as I see it is really one of support and admiration," Bullmer says.
Artis hopes the show reaches young people, especially girls, who are interested in science. "This is a story for everybody, but especially for women and letting them know that they are being seen and are heard more," he says.
A community conversation at 6 p.m. during Art Hop comes before the opening-night performance. The November 7 performance offers ASL interpretation and audio description. On November 8, representatives of the Air Zoo, the show's community partner, talk about Leavitt's legacy. The show runs through November 15. Tickets are available at kazoocivic.com or 269-343-1313.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
