BECCA MARTIN-BROWN

bmartin@nwaonline.com

Henrietta Swan Leavitt was not famous in her lifetime. She did not win the Nobel Prize, although her name was being considered before her untimely death in 1921. Neither is it vital to this story that we understand how her revolutionary conclusions about Cepheid stars gave astronomers a way to measure the universe.

What does matter is that Leavitt was a groundbreaking scientist, even though she was not recognized as one because of her gender. It matters that she pursued the career she loved, even when she had to be a volunteer to do so — again because of her gender. It matters that without her, astronomers like Edwin Hubble couldn’t have made their own discoveries.

But perhaps it matters most that, as one of her colleagues wrote in his obituary for her, Leavitt “was possessed of a nature so full of sunshine that, to her, all of life became beautiful and full of meaning.”

Selena Mykenzie Gordon, who portrays Leavitt in the University Theatre production of Lauren Gunderson’s “Silent Sky,” said “lending [her] own heart to Henrietta” has taught her “not to lose sight of the beauty and the wonder in the world, and to remember why we’re here, which is to love and spread joy and find meaning.”

Described by critics as “sheer magic,” “a lively, funny, accessible play that’s alive with interesting ideas” and “an intellectual epic told on an intimate scale,” “Silent Sky” opens Feb. 14 in the Fine Arts Center on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Under the direction of Sarah Behrend-Wilcox, it was selected because of its feminist perspective, the director said, but also because “at the crux of this play is finding peace in the unknown and knowing the journey is the important part, not the answer and not the ending.”

“I hope people leave talking about how to be more active within our own journeys, too,” she added. “To find moments to stand up for ourselves and to stand up for others.”

When Leavitt started work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she wasn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea, according to the Dramatists Play Service. Instead, she joined a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculated projects in “girl hours” and had no interest in the women thinking independently. Of course, there’s a love story, as Leavitt tries to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and romantic possibilities.

Both Behrend-Wilcox and Gordon are part of the master of fine arts program at the UA, both of them are Arkansas natives, and both of them fell in love with storytelling at a very young age.

“I think I was 5 when I told my parents I wanted to be one of the big people walking around on the screen at the movies,” said Behrend-Wilcox, who grew up in Fayetteville.

“I did theater a lot growing up, and it was a fun community, but the moment I really realized just how impactful theater could be and how passionate I am was when TheatreSquared did ‘Next to Normal,’ about a nuclear family going through an incredibly tough time,” she remembered. “I had similar issues happening in my family at that time, and I believe that production saved my life.” Like Leavitt, she said, “I knew then this was more than just a hobby, this was something I wanted to do to enact change going forward.”

Gordon, raised in Fort Smith, was singing before she was acting, she said, and theater was a great way to combine those passions. She did it well enough to earn a full scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, but she says that grad school at the UA “has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself and my training and my art.”

“Seeing this show come to life through Sarah’s eyes, I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky,” she said. “There are so many beautiful messages [in it] that remind you to look outside yourself at the beauty of it all.”

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FAQ

‘Silent Sky’

WHEN — Feb. 14-15 & Feb. 19-22 at 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 16 & 23 at 2 p.m.

WHERE — University Theatre in the Fine Arts Center on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville

COST — $20

INFO — www.theatre.uark.edu

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FYI

Also Playing

At DTSOI

The Theatre Department at Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale will present “Silent Sky” at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27-March 1 in the Pat Ellison Performing Arts Center at the high school. Tickets are $10 general admission.