Starry Messenger January 27, 2011

January 27 to February 13, 2011
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM
Sundays at 3:00 PM
Added performance Sunday, January 30 at 8:00 pm
"Starry Messenger" by Ira Hauptman, directed by Susan Einhorn.
"Starry Messenger" was one of Galileo's most revolutionary works. It was the first scientific paper about the universe as seen through a telescope, and contained confounding ideas about the moon, stars and planets. A new play of the same name by Ira Hauptman, directed by Susan Einhorn, will be presented by Theater for the New City January 27 to February 13, featuring David Little as the famed scientist. The play is a modern retelling of Galileo's resistance and ultimate capitulation to the Inquisition over his support of the Copernican theory of the earth's rotation.

There is ample drama in the history of Galileo's famous recantation of his belief that the earth moves. It’s rumored that even after Galileo swore his recantation, he muttered "But still it moves." Ira Hauptman's seven character play is unique in that it traces the effects of Galileo's ordeals on his family--his son and two daughters--and his childrens' role in his decision to renounce his discoveries. Notions of science, faith, demons, madness and self-sacrifice are raised and overturned. As Cardinals Borgia and Zacchia negotiate with Galileo over his recantation, we are also afforded a close look at the process of reconciling new science with the power structure--a clash that we are mindful of in our present-day conflicts over evolution and global warming.

Tickets $15 general admission and $12 for students/seniors.
Box office (212) 254-1109, www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Running time 90 minutes.