Annie Cannon News

The city lights of Washington may typically obscure the night sky, but a portal to the cosmos has opened in downtown DC. Playwright Lauren Gunderson has gifted us a corner of the galaxy through the telescopic lens of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt's life and scientific discoveries. Leavitt's work may have been rooted in facts and figures, but SILENT SKY is bursting with imagination.

An old fashioned hearing aid and a strong willed woman at its helm with dreams as big as the universe she wishes to discover is one of many centralized themes presented in this brilliant staging of Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky at American Stage Theatre. At the center of the stage two desk faced by numerous books on shelves in a workspace for women at Harvard University, where women are paid a mere .25 cents on the hour to a?oecomputea?? and manually log the patterns of stars in the galaxy given on glass plates by their male counterparts. At this point in Harvard's history women were not allowed to work alongside the men no matter their prior education or status. Men had their place, and women had theirs and men liked to make sure the women knew their place in the hierarchy. It was one women's dream to be credited amongst the likes of men in the Astrology department, and through sheer will power she set out to prove just that.

In Arizona Theatre Company's current production of Lauren Gunderson's SILENT SKY, director Casey Stangl elevates and transforms the work into a visually magnificent and magical experience. With an eye on the layers of the play that delve beyond the biographic account and celebration of this woman's spirited and inquisitive journey to unravel the secrets of the universe, Stangl invites the audience to wonderment and reflection on the seminal question of the play: What is our place in the vast arena of the universe?

Raise your hand if you have ever discovered something new, Googled it, found the Wikipedia page, which then made you go off on a flurry of related topics and suddenly time has just passed by? I'll raise both hands because I'm not ashamed to say that this happens to me often. Sunday was one of those days, all thanks to the fantastic production of Silent Sky at Detroit Mercy Theatre Company who educated me on Henrietta Leavitt. The Lauren Gunderson play is the fascinating true story about the 19th century astronomer who was hired to join a group of women a?oecomputersa?? and living in an age when women could neither vote nor express an original idea. Despite not being allowed to touch a telescope, Leavitt and her female colleagues at the Harvard Observatory made ground-breaking discoveries about the universe that remain vital more than a century later. The simplicity and elegance of this production of Silent Sky made the importance of Gunderson's words stand out to the audience and the cast of five worked seamlessly together to bring this impactful and moving production to life. It is a brilliant piece of Michigan theatre.

Arizona Theatre Company (Sean Daniels, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) announces that Silent Sky, written by the nation's most-produced playwright two of the last three years, Lauren Gunderson,is coming to stages in Tucson and Phoenix.

The Long Beach Playhouse opens its 2019 - 2020 season with The Haunting of Hill House. The play is adapted by F. Andrew Leslie from the novel written by Shirley Jackson in 1959. The story focuses on Dr. Montague (a paranormal researcher), an isolated and creepy old house with a bad reputation, a collection of his guests chosen for their susceptibility to the supernatural, a quirky relative of the mansion's owner and the strangely disquieting house staff. As the foreboding and creepiness grows we must ask the question, 'What can be done when the malevolent presence isn't in the house but is the house?'

Peninsula Players Theatre, America's oldest professional resident summer theater and Door County's theatrical icon, is excited to announce the opening of 'Silent Sky' by Lauren Gunderson. 'Silent Sky' tells the story of unsung astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, whose discoveries at Harvard Observatory in the 1890s opened the galaxies above. 'Silent Sky' performs August 21 through September 1.

Growing up, I was fascinated with space. I loved looking up and learning about the stars. I still find myself occasionally looking up at the beauty of the stars. Watching Lauren Gunderson's 'Silent Sky' at the Des Moines Playhouse, reminded me of that fascination I had as a kid. The show did that by telling an amazing story, and accenting it with beautiful music and images.

The Des Moines Community Playhouse presents the new drama Silent Sky, May 31-June 16, 2019. Tickets may be purchased online at dmplayhouse.com, by phone at 515-277-6261, or at the Playhouse ticket office, 831 42nd St.

Evergreen Players presents 'Silent Sky' March 15 through April 7 at Center Stage, 27608 Fireweed Drive, Evergreen, CO. Performances are Today and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 Adults; $20 students/seniors (60+), Youth (12 and under) $15 by calling 303-674-4934 or online at www.evergreenplayers.org. Group discounts are also available.

Evergreen Players presents 'Silent Sky' March 15 through April 7 at Center Stage, 27608 Fireweed Drive, Evergreen, CO. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 Adults; $20 students/seniors (60+), Youth (12 and under) $15 by calling 303-674-4934 or online at www.evergreenplayers.org. Group discounts are also available.

The play's director Claudia Billings says 'Gunderson in the most exciting playwright working today. She has made it her career focus to bring the stories of women who didn't get the recognition they deserved - to the forefront. The script has found huge success across the nation since it's release in 2011. We are beyond excited to bring it to the Las Cruces area. With NMSU's rich history and research in Astronomy, we feel like this is the perfect story to tell.'

The play's director Claudia Billings says 'Gunderson in the most exciting playwright working today. She has made it her career focus to bring the stories of women who didn't get the recognition they deserved - to the forefront. The script has found huge success across the nation since it's release in 2011. We are beyond excited to bring it to the Las Cruces area. With NMSU's rich history and research in Astronomy, we feel like this is the perfect story to tell.'

Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt trades the comforts of her rural home for a job at the Harvard Observatory in Massachusetts. Her ambition leaves both her family and her new colleagues (women known simply as "computers") perplexed. But with a single discovery, their views of themselves, each other, and the universe itself will be upended for all time. An incredible story of bold love, boundless determination, and the vast grandeur of the cosmos-an unparalleled treat for the heart, mind, and senses.

The play's director Claudia Billings says 'Gunderson in the most exciting playwright working today. She has made it her career focus to bring the stories of women who didn't get the recognition they deserved - to the forefront. The script has found huge success across the nation since it's release in 2011. We are beyond excited to bring it to the Las Cruces area. With NMSU's rich history and research in Astronomy, we feel like this is the perfect story to tell.'

Though acting on stage is nothing new to writer-director Bibeth Orteza, she considers her stint in this year's restaging of Lauren Gunderson's play 'Silent Sky' still difficult. For her, it is always tough when one does her best.

For centuries, the significant contributions of science by women have been relatively unappreciated or unknown (unless you're Madame Curie), but thanks to recent a recent uptake of science-oriented bio dramas that is about to shift theatrically. Currently running at Theatre Baton Rouge is SILENT SKY, a vastly crucial yet little-known story of one woman whose groundwork laid the foundations of mapping the universe despite gender bias and other obstacles.

Sinclair Theatre will present SILENT SKY, February 8-16 in its Black Box Theatre, Building 2, on the downtown Dayton campus.

Reine Productions, in cooperation with Repertory Philippines (Rep), brings back the critically-acclaimed play 'Silent Sky' for a limited engagement at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City from February 1-10, 2019.

Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky is the factual story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, whose turn-of-the-century career had an important effect on science and discovery throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries.