In the early years of the 20th century, before women were granted the right to vote, Henrietta Swan Leavitt made an invaluable contribution to astronomy, one that shaped our understanding of our planet’s tiny place in the vast cosmos.

I hadn’t heard of her until this week. You probably haven’t either.

Silent Sky, open through Feb. 23 at Ford’s Theatre, offers a corrective. The lightly comedic show is a fictionalized account of Leavitt’s tenure at the Harvard Observatory, where her largely unpaid work as a “computer” tabulating documented bits of the sky led her to realize that the time between the flares of the stars in the night sky could help scientists gauge the distance from Earth to the heavens. This finding helped confirm the long-debated theory that the Milky Way does not, in fact, represent the entirety of the universe.

Leavitt’s story, delivered here by playwright Lauren Gunderson (most recently behind the world premiere of Peter Pan and Wendy at Shakespeare Theatre Company), is one of feminist triumph when the societal odds were firmly stacked against her. As a valuable lesson in the slippery nature of the historical canon, Silent Sky succeeds, lending Leavitt (Laura C. Harris) an identity of plucky determination and perseverance.

As a piece of theatrical storytelling, it’s a bit less revelatory. Characters bluntly narrate the story’s themes in direct address to the audience. Groan-worthy comedic bits bludgeon the audience with reminders that societal norms (male chauvinism in the workplace) and linguistic tropes (the word “computer”) have evolved a century later. Gunderson invents an office romance and a family tragedy that keep the narrative firmly rooted in cliché. A handful of sung interludes feel out of place.

Still, there are charms to be appreciated. After a few clunky scenes of exposition, the actors settle into an appealing groove, their rapport papering over the story’s flaws. Nora Achrati and Holly Twyford as Leavitt’s boisterous Harvard colleagues are a particular hoot. The elegant rotating set, flanked by two steep staircases and an overhead balcony, is positioned such that the balcony-level audience is at eye level with twinkling stars. Director Seema Sueko stages a few dazzling moments of interplay between characters in different locations, or jolted into reality out of a dream.

Still, it’s a shame to see a story about a woman’s triumph over sexism rendered in such classical, sentimental terms, which flatter the audience’s comparatively progressive beliefs without interrogating the circumstances of Leavitt’s marginalization. 

There’s no doubt her story is worth telling, but this show doesn’t befit her legacy.

Silent Sky runs at Ford’s Theatre through Feb. 23. Tickets $22-72. Runtime approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with 15-minute intermission.