Times have indeed changed as we look back at earlier times, when women weren’t allowed to an express an idea or voice any opinion. It’s hard to imagine a woman, with a hearing impairment, taking part in a feat as huge as the universe, charting the stars without today’s technology and abilities. But one woman at Harvard Observatory dared to gaze beyond the obstacles in front of her and do just that.
Amarillo Little Theatre (ALT) explores this luminous story in their next production, “Silent Sky,” which will be staged April 9-19 in the ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle.
Written by Lauren Gunderson, the play opens with Henrietta Leavitt beginning work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s. While she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories…