Lizzy Kimball and Krishna Smitha (Photo by Brian Graves)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
The Road Theatre Company
Through June 2
RECOMMENDED
There’s no mystery why Singularities, now at the Road Theatre in North Hollywood, is subtitled “the Computers of Venus.” The women astronomers in Laura Stribling’s complex and fascinating world premiere are human calculators — scientific visionaries who devote their lives to mapping the stars. Dedicated to their exacting mission, they are very much representatives of the female-centric planet Venus,
Unfortunately, they labor in the orbit of the planet Mars, which is dominated by the viciously bigoted male scientific establishment that thwarts and marginalizes their efforts at every turn.
Stribling’s intricately fashioned tale, which masterfully mingles historical fact and fiction, is set in three different time periods — the late 1700s, post-Civil War America, and the present day.
In 1789, as the play opens, we meet Caroline Herschel (Avery Clyde), the real-life astronomer whose galactic charts are still being used to this day. German-born Herschel was saved from a life of household drudgery by her brother William, also an astronomer, who moved them both to England. William, however, exploits his sister as a mere assistant, and despite her own brilliance in the field, she is happy to accept that role.
That is, until Elizabeth Leland (Noelle Mercer) explodes onto the scene. A product of the wealthy British nobility, Elizabeth is a talented amateur astronomer who must sneak out by night in period men’s attire (courtesy of Jenna Bergstraesser’s excellent costume design) to Elizabeth’s observatory. She is soon pursuing her passion as Caroline’s willing acolyte and friend of the heart. Yet, while Elizabeth inspires Caroline to emerge from her brother’s shadow and embrace her own greatness, she is coerced into a loveless marriage to an overbearing husband who keeps her closely confined. Trapped in the conventions of her time, she may be doomed.
The action segues to postbellum New York, where real-life Maria Mitchell (Susan Diol) conducts her exacting research in her Vassar observatory. Already famous for her discovery of a comet named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet” — a discovery for which she was recognized only after a male astronomer claimed credit — she has settled down to a rewarding career as a stargazer, educator, and adored leading light to her female students.
When Mitchell’s old friend, Julia Ward Howe (Blaire Chandler) — an early suffragist most famous for writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic — pays an unexpected visit, Mitchell’s long-banked sexual desires catch fire, upsetting her previously ascetic existence. Although married, the discreetly boozy and covertly lesbian Howe coaxes Mitchell to abjure Vassar’s domineering male administrators and join her on the road, speaking about women’s rights. She also, quite blatantly, wants Mitchell as her lover, forcing Mitchell to painfully weigh her scientific priorities with her emotional needs.
In the present-day scenes, the attraction between the characters becomes more sexually manifest, while the exploitation of women scientists continues, distressingly, unabated. Lena (Lizzy Kimball) has retreated to an obscure observatory after her research was stolen by a male colleague, who has become famous and wealthy as a result of her findings. Sophia (Krishna Smitha) has been dispatched to persuade Lena to join her former betrayer’s company. The two women soon engage in a combustible affair, but while the lonely and isolated Lena initially thinks that Sophia may be “the one,” another painful betrayal is in store.
Stribling, who also directs, is ably supported by Derrick McDaniel’s evocative lighting and David B. Marling’s moody sound. Ben Rock’s projection design — a swirling backdrop of astral images that captures astronomy’s seductive lure for these intrepid women explorers — supplements the shortfall of Brian Graves’ overly simplistic scenic design (although, to give Graves just credit, Singularities plays in repertory, which may explain the necessity for a stripped-down set).
Among a strong and talented cast, Chandler stands out as Howe, a woman unbowed by her marriage to a jealous and controlling husband. Chandler’s Howe is puckish, droll, and unapologetically hedonistic — a transgressive early prototype who cheerfully defies the conventions of her time.
Singularities is, above all, a salient examination of female love in its many permutations. Whether the love between these same-sex “couples” is consummated or not, these women turn to one another for the inspiration and support so sadly denied them by the sexist status quo — a poignant reminder that the true communion of souls can transcend gender and societal suppression.
The Road Theatre Company, The NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood. In rep, check website for schedule; thru June 2. (818) 761-8838, www.RoadTheatre.org Running time: two hours with an intermission.
