By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.
Just a few days ago, NASA launched the first Artemis mission which will eventually return astronauts to the moon. Quite coincidentally, the Hopewell Theatre launched its own outer space project on Friday night with the area premiere of “Silent Sky,” written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Traci Manning.
“Silent Sky” is based on the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, who dreamed of being an astronomer and finding the answers to “who are we, why are we, and where are we.” To that end, she finds herself accepting a job offer at the Harvard Observatory in Boston in the 1900s. What she finds, however, is a battle in a male dominated profession. She must deal with many significant roadblocks before she has any hope of achieving the status she seeks.
Leading this cast is Casey Murphy as the indominable Henrietta. Murphy makes it clear from her first scene that Henrietta is totally consumed with her vision of possibilities and success in her “out of this world” profession. She plays Henrietta’s enthusiasm full tilt and deftly pulls the audience into this realm of excitement that she experiences.
Her plan to leave home and search out her dreams does not set well with sister, Margie, played by McKenna Lago.
Murphy shows Henrietta to be not only a dreamer set on success but also a strong believer in what she wants to do. And that strength builds throughout the scenes. Her passion for the stars comes across as real and all consuming as she is ready to leave family behind for her new venture. Meanwhile, Lago presents a strong and determined Margie, intent on keeping Henrietta grounded and on the farm to help the family.
Lago plays a great counterpoint to Henrietta. Being careful to not sound controlling, Lago presents Margie’s arguments as legitimate concerns for her sister’s welfare. The two play off of each other well, particularly later in the show with letters to each other as tensions mount. The staging of this aspect is very effective.
Henrietta wins out, however, as off to Harvard she goes. On her first day on the job she meets Peter Shaw, apprentice to department head Dr. Edward Pickering. The department in which she will work is all women, referred to as “Pickering’s Harem.” Shaw, played by veteran actor Shawn Lockaton, is perhaps the strongest character in the entire piece when you weigh the mix of drama and comedy involved with the character.
Lockaton is pure joy each time he makes an appearance as the self- important apprentice. He’s a big talker as he makes his “rounds” but is quite easily backed into numerous verbal corners by the women. A good bit of Lockaton’s comedy comes when he stumbles and stammers around trying to get himself out of those corners.
But Lockaton’s professionalism shines through in more serious scenes as the show progresses. He is always a welcome addition and usually breezes in and breezes out very quickly.
Henrietta’s co-workers, Annie Jump Cannon, and Willamina Fleming, are played by Emily Royer and Rhonny Dam, respectively. Cannon is in charge of the room in which Henrietta works and is a strictly “by the book” boss with little levity. I couldn’t tell, however, whether the Cannon role was just a little underwritten or if the characterization by Royer made it seem so. The character seemed to lack energy and zip and was often overshadowed by others on stage. Very often my focus was on other characters even when Cannon was speaking. One thing was certain: Royer’s line delivery was not strong enough. Many of her lines were inaudible at various points of the show.
Dam’s Willamina was the soft-spoken one with a sharp tongue but her stage presence helped to sell the character with flair and vitality. As Shaw had many comedic opportunities, so does Willamina. She sort of becomes the mother hen to Henrietta.
The script for the show is sometimes its worst enemy. Early in the show it sort of gets in its own way with numerous astronomy and scientific terms, which are necessary, but they sometimes derail audience attention unless you are up on those terms. Add to that the fact that some of the writing seemed very disjointed at times with some dialogue feeling weak and forced. This is early in the show, however. As the show progresses and tensions and situations intensify, so does the writing.
“Silent Sky” is an interesting show about a person that most people have never heard of but one who made discoveries about the universe that are still being used to this day. It’s a good choice as a belated Women’s History Month offering.
“Silent Sky” will continue April 4, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and April 12 at 2 p.m.
Pictured at top: Casey Murphy in Hopewell Theatre’s production of “Silent Sky.”