We got to the theater today, a rare treat for us, and enjoyed a terrific new play at the Lyric Stage in Boston: Legacy of Light, written by Karen Zacarias and directed by Lois Roach. Funny and thought provoking, it focused on two women scientists—one the Enlightment figure Emilie du Chatelet, friend and lover of Voltaire, who built on the work of Isaac Newton in understanding light and energy. The other, a fictional (I think!) astrophysicist of today, tries to make sense of herself as a mother-to-be as well as she thinks she understands the formation of a new planet circling a distant star. Light and love and energy and collision of masses—they all come together like particles in the Large Hadron Collider, splintering and showering everything around them with new particles and life.
The theme music is Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me with Science.” Perfect!
If you’re in the Boston area, I highly recommend it. Legacy of Light shows through March 13 at the Lyric Stage. If you’re outside Boston, maybe it’ll come your way soon.
Leave a Reply