Silent Sky

When:
June 5, 2019 @ 7:30 pm
2019-06-05T19:30:00-05:00
2019-06-05T19:45:00-05:00
Where:
Des Moines Community Playhouse
831 42nd St
Des Moines, IA 50312
USA
Contact:
Des Moines Community Playhouse
(515) 974-5358

MAY 31 – JUN 16, 2019

Performance Times: 7:30 PM Wednesday through Saturday; 2:00 PM Sunday

They set their sights on the stars and changed science forever.

Lauren Gunderson’s 2015 play centers around the untold stories of female astronomers through the eyes of a real scientist Henrietta Leavitt, a female “computer” at Harvard College Observatory.

Leavitt is joined by her capable co-workers at the observatory, Annie Cannon and Williamina Fleming, who were restricted from the equipment used by the males. The women were required to settle in a cramped workroom, computing and cataloging distant stars and galaxies founded by male astronomers.

This true story of the 19th-century astronomers, “Silent Sky” 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.

 

Mainstage Content Advisory: The Playhouse does not rate subject matter as sensitivities vary from person to person. If you have questions about content, age appropriateness, or other aspects of the show (ie strobe lights and other theatrical affects), please contact the ticket office at 515-277-6261.