"Silent Sky," #915

Leave it to Lauren Gunderson to bring out the romance in science. Often known for her feminine-forward storytelling, with focus given to industries and eras not known for widely celebrating their women, Gunderson has a knack for making the relevancy immediate and plot enticing. Such is the case for Silent Sky, playing at Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theater. Directed superbly by Laurie Pessano, this production brightens the stage as much as the very stars the play’s characters are exploring.

(Terry Lewis (Peter Shaw) and Jessica Rose Knotts (Henrietta Leavitt); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Jessica Rose Knotts leads the production as Henrietta Leavitt, the scientist who discovers a new standard for measuring how far stars, and therefore the universe, expands beyond the Milky Way. Knotts gives wonderful balance to Henrietta’s impassioned academic side and content romantic side, playing well opposite the endearing Peter Shaw, played expertly by Terry Lewis. Shaw’s unexpected infatuation with Henrietta quickly turns into a romantic slow burn of deepening feelings which mirror the development of Henrietta’s astronomical work and theory. The two share a charming connection that is both hopelessly genuine and rooted in legitimate conflict.

(Cast of Silent Sky; Photo source: Good Company Players)

Erin Brown delivers a craftily drawn Margaret, sister to Henrietta, and serves as a near positive foil to Knotts, constantly trying to get her to come back home while Henrietta is, at the top of the play, trying to get her sister to go with her. Pessano’s pacing and patience given to the more dramatic scenes supports and elevates this come-and-go theme, which effectively threads its way through Henrietta’s primary relationships with Margaret and Peter. It serves as both plot-serving conflict and resolution, and showcasing the complex human journey we all face from time to time. Valerie Munoz is a standout in being the supportive-yet-steadfast superior, Annie, to Henrietta at the university they're employed at, only to engagingly reveal her softer side as trust and professional respect is earned. Aurora Nibley rounds out the excellent cast as Williamina Fleming, also in the working cohort with Henrietta and Annie. Her comedic timing is calibrated well with a hearty amount of one-liners and quips, which provides a consistent trail of humor that couples well with her genuine admiration for her fellow scientists.

(Jessica Rose Knotts (Henrietta Leavitt) and Erin Brown (Margaret Leavitt); Photo source: Good Company Players)

Joielle Adams’s lighting design is alluringly tapered in providing each scene with its proper mood while giving way for Jocelyn Chavira’s beautiful projections design to impress. Every projection captivates with the sky-filled wonder the play promotes. The two designs pair so well it’s only right I declare it the sixth character in this cast of five. Silent Sky is, easily, a truly luminous time at the theater. Lauren Gunderson’s style of playwriting is that each scene is its own mini-play: there’s a noticeable arc, a detectable beginning/middle/end, and a definite want or drive towards a resolution that is sometimes granted and other times denied by character or circumstance. Pessano’s direction matches this structure masterfully, and the cast deftly delivers the material and lets the relationship-building develop naturally and with universal nuance. Go see this show!