Photos: Maggie Hall.
By Michele Markarian
“Galileo’s Daughter” – Written by Jessica Dickey. Directed by Reena Dutt. Presented by Central Square Theater and WAM Theatre, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through December 8.
“A play is a very good way to learn something”, says Maria Celeste to her father, Galileo. We learn that Galileo, in addition to being a scientist, has fathered three illegitimate children; his alleged favorite, Maria Celeste, was the one (at least in the play) most interested in his work. One hundred and twenty-four letters survived between father and daughter, and in the year 2015, a writer (Caroline Kinsolving) has traveled to Italy, to the Museo Galileo, to research them for a play she is writing. In her backpack are also divorce papers that she seems unwilling to sign.
Interspersed with the 21st century are 17th-century Galileo (Diego Arciniegas) and Maria Celeste (Sandra Seoane-Seri). Galileo, with the aid of a self-made telescope, sees for himself that the earth orbits the sun and shares his enthusiasm with Maria Celeste, who is troubled, as they are both aware that the Scripture does not support science. A paper he has written in favor of heliocentrism has caught the attention of the Pope, and in spite of his belief that “Truth, by its very nature, needs to be known,” Galileo is found guilty of suspected heresy and is made to retract his theory, spending the rest of his days under house arrest. In order to protect his daughter, he insists that she join a convent, as her illegitimacy prevents her from marrying. It is from the confines of the convent that the correspondence between father and daughter begins.
Back in the 21st century, the Writer, after a chance encounter with a divorced stranger, decides she can divorce, after all, and becomes “…radiant and whole and the center of my life” (note the Sun tie-in). The problem with this part of the plot is that it doesn’t make any sense. The Writer is divorcing because an inner voice has told her that she won’t be married, she won’t have a baby, but she will be fully herself at “great, great cost.” HUH? Why? I understand that the playwright was creating a symmetry between the character and Maria Celeste, but this is supposed to be 2015! She can have a kid and a career AND be fully herself. Marie Celeste didn’t have a choice, and if the play were to be believed, wasn’t interested in men anyway. The ecstasy of the Writer when she proclaimed her liberated lifestyle was perplexing, kind of like celebrating an endless, pointless, and self-inflicted solitary confinement. As Galileo’s relationship with his daughter points out, relationships with men – or anyone, for that matter – don’t have to be confining. While the Writer plot was superfluous, the Galileo/Marie Celeste plot was interesting, if underdeveloped. The fact that Galileo had to repudiate his theory to save his life because religion took precedence over science was chilling, especially now, when America appears to be turning back the clock on rational thought.
The cast does a great job in spite of the material. Arciniegas is terrific in the title role, as well as in some of the smaller roles he portrays in 21st-century Italy. Kinsolving brings energy and a scatterbrained resolve to the Writer, and the wonderful Seoane-Seri plays Marie Celeste with a combination of childishness and sagacity. Qingan Zhang’s versatile set is both old and new world, and Malorie R. Grillo’s costumes, particularly in the 17th century, look well-worn and authentic. Dutt’s direction keeps the pace flowing. I will say I Googled Galileo when I got home to learn more about his personal life. I also really regret not going to the Museo Galileo when I was in Florence if only to see his two fingers under glass, as they were depicted onstage. And believe it or not, the Vatican didn’t admit that Galileo’s theory was correct until 1992. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/
