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Lauren Gunderson's play "Silent Sky," opening this week in a regional premiere at Pygmalion Productions, seems grounded in the cultural zeitgeist as it tells a sweeping, starlit story about another hidden figure in science.

"Sky" is based on the groundbreaking discoveries of Henrietta Leavitt and her female colleagues, who in the early 20th century were employed with other women as human "computers" at Harvard College Observatory, charting the stars for a renowned male astronomer.

Henrietta isn't allowed to use the sophisticated telescope. But her irrepressible ambition drives her to explore how to calculate the size of the universe based on the variable brightness of stars, while she's negotiating the scale of other relationships in her life.

"Following this curiosity was not easy," Henrietta tells her male boss, who has a crush on her. "I had to insist, which requires a dedicated desire unmatched by reason, which is called passion."

Gunderson's story explores universal themes about a person struggling to find her place in the universe. "It's got so much warmth and humor to it," says director Mark Fossen. "The science is a way to talk about something bigger."

Henrietta "is so passionate about science and astronomy and what she wants," says the actor who plays her, Hannah Minshew, who considered becoming a geologist — "sorta the opposite of astronomy" — before she turned to acting at Westminster College. "She wants to find out where we belong in the world, and that passion gets in the way of the rest of her life."

Her conception of heaven is "a cosmos deep in a gorgeous void," Henrietta tells her sister, whose life is grounded by religion and music. "Mottled with immaculate combustion."

The play debuted at California's South Coast Repertory in 2011, predating the Hollywood treatment of last year's "Hidden Figures." The heartwarming movie focused on the forgotten African-American female mathematicians at NASA whose work in the 1960s led to the successful space flight of U.S. astronaut John Glenn.

Audiences who flocked to that film might be interested in the story's explorations of similar issues in another science field some 50 to 60 years earlier. "Representation is important," understates Fossen at a time when girls still need encouragement to continue studying STEM subjects and female playwrights receive dramatically fewer productions than their male counterparts. (That's only about 22 percent of 2,500 contemporary theater productions from 2011-14, according to recent statistics released by the Dramatists Guild of America and the Lily Award.)

In recent seasons, Gunderson, 35, based in San Francisco, has earned a galaxy of theater awards (including the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association's New Play Award in 2014) and is this year's most produced living playwright, according to American Theatre magazine's annual ranking. A handful of her plays explore the niche of "feminist scientist historical bio-plays," as the Orange County Register's Paul Hodgins labeled it.

"Sky" also mines the gentle humor of the prickly friendships among Henrietta's colleagues.

"At present, we're cleaning up the universe for men and making fun of them behind their backs," says Williamina, a former maid who was the first woman hired as a "computer." "It's worked for centuries."

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'Silent Sky'

Pygmalion Productions' cast features Brenda Hatting, Hannah Minshew, Elizabeth Golden, Michael Scott Johnson and Teresa Sanderson. The show is directed by Mark Fossen.

When • Opens April 28 and plays Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., through May 13; additional matinee Saturday, May 13, at 2 p.m.

Where • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Black Box theater, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $15-$20; 801-355-2787 or artsaltlake.org