TampaRep to Open Silent Sky This Week

By: Louisa Brady May. 01, 2016

Tampa Repertory Theatre will present Lauren Gunderson's fascinating true tale of groundbreaking women scientists SILENT SKY in the Smith Black Box theater at Tampa Preparatory School, 727 West Cass Street in downtown Tampa, May 5 through May 22. Performances are at 7:30 PM on Thursdays, 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 PM on Sundays. Patrons may purchase tickets at the door or from a link on TampaRep's website at www.tamparep.org.

SILENT SKY reveals the astonishing true story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921), an American astronomer who worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a human "computer" starting in 1893.

Leavitt studied photographs of stars (women were not permitted to operate the Harvard telescope) and made a groundbreaking discovery that enabled later astronomer Edwin Hubble to prove that the universe is expanding. Little remembered today, Leavitt accomplished this while earning 30 cents a day under the weight of male superiors who often dismissed both her industry and her insight.

In SILENT SKY's exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, a passionate young woman must map her own passage through a society determined to keep her in her place. Of a recent Atlanta production, ArtsATL wrote: "SILENT SKY... could act as a simple reminder of what a pleasant, thought-provoking evening at the theater ought to look like. It's a lively, funny, accessible play that's alive with interesting ideas."

Winner of the prestigious Lanford Wilson playwriting award for 2016, 34-year-old Lauren Gunderson is already one of the most-produced playwrights in the United States. Her drama I and You is now enjoying a successful Off-Broadway run.

For SILENT SKY, director Connie LaMarca-Frankel (TampaRep's I DO! I DO!) has assembled a celestial cast of TampaRep veterans, including Emilia Sargent (Blanche DuBois in TampaRep's A Streetcar Named Desire), Lynne Locher (The Children's Hour), Caroline Jett (True West) and Derrick Phillips (the title role in Tampa Shakespeare Festival's upcomingRichard III), plus newcomer Karissa Barber.

More information about TampaRep is available at TampaRep.org.

Watch a trailer for the show below!

Photo Credit: Désirée Fantal

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