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Legacy of Light
Two women scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love, motherhood, family, art and science in this contemporary comedy. Legacy of Light juxtaposes the story of Émilie du Châtelet, a mathematician, scientist, and lover of the great 18th-century philosopher Voltaire, who became unexpectedly pregnant at 42, and that of a 21st-century physicist desperately trying to conceive a child.
Legacy of Light made its world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2009. Directed by Molly Smith, the production featured Lise Bruneau, Carla Harting, Stephen Schnetzer, Michael Russotto, David Covington and Lindsey Kyler.
Legacy of Light made its world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2009. Directed by Molly Smith, the production featured Lise Bruneau, Carla Harting, Stephen Schnetzer, Michael Russotto, David Covington and Lindsey Kyler.
- GenresPlays
108 pages, Paperback
Published May 3, 2023
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 3, 2025
A lyrical play, that is so well written, the characters come to life. I also saw this as a theatre production at the McCarter Theater in 2024 and my husband and I thought it was the best play we had every attended, and we have gone to all the big ones on Broadway. The play is just mesmerizing, and it has several levels to the story.
First, the action takes place in France in the 1700's with Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet, her daughter, husband and younger lover. The story takes place as well in Princeton New Jersey with a female astronomer and her husband as well as Millie, a surrogate for their child and the surrogate's brother Lewis. The parallel of Emilie as an astronomer and physicist, pressed against that of Olivia, also an astronomer, and her husband, a teacher.
In both stories there are at least three "babies" and these include the unplanned pregnancy of Emilie, at 42, that of the surrogate carrying Peter and Olivia' child. Then the third "baby' being born is the discovery of a planet in formation-- one that Olivia discovers and features in the story.
The love story with Voltaire and her younger lover Saint Lambert (a poet in the King's court) is so funny and well told. In the parallel story, Olivia, age 42, is a tenured scientist at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Isaac Newton Institute at Princeton University. Her husband, a schoolteacher is Peter. She is in remission from uterine cancer and can't have child, thus her desire for a surrogate mother to help her and Peter achieve their dream of having a family.
At the other end of the story is Emilie, and her discoveries about energy and mass and light-- are all the more astonishing because they are her real discoveries in history. She used Newton's discoveries and IMPROVED them! e.g. Light has no mass, and it heats and burns because there are different types of light. Emilie is also known for translating into French, and writing an extensive commentary on, Isaac Newton's "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica." The text, published in 1756, is still considered the standard French translation to this day. This is noted in the play by Voltaire, and that it is published posthumously after her death.
The play moves seamlessly, between the eras, and Emilie having a child in her 40's and that danger to a woman of that era. Also, the complex stress of surrogacy for Millie, especially with her brother.
Another level to the story has threads with the role of mothers, and motherhood and is very touching with those scenes and dialogue. What is that responsibility to your children as a parent and how is the role of mother different than that of a father, and how are they similar. Yes, this play was quite thought-provoking.
The other level to the story is the metaphor and the theme, that "Light and Love share the same properties." "Love burns; different types of love carry different amounts of heat. And although we cannot set it, smell it, or touch it, we can feel love. It glows. Love does not have weight! Love has no mass! Otherwise, how would our souls survive the pelting?" So too light, and how Emilie discovers that there are different types of light via her experiments. This is also told with a sense of urgency, as Emilie believes she will not live after childbirth and thus assumes she has these 9 months to finish her life's work, assure her daughter Pauline's future and assuage Voltaire.
Yet another level to the story is the symbolism of the 'apple' - for Newton and his theory of gravity as well as the fact that Voltaire may have invented the story of the 'apple' after having met Newton and writing about it. And the apple itself and an apple tree figure into the ending of the story as well, and I will leave that out so as not to mention any spoilers. It's all cleverly done.
The play has two scenes where characters address the audience too, that is very amusing and surprising. And the ending is a lovely pastiche in the scenes of the characters, and as ghosts, and visionaries, and recognition of descendants-- all tied together.
Voltaire and Emilie were key figures in the entry of the world into the period of Enlightenment. So too perhaps is this era of the 21st century, as man discovers other worlds in the universe. Olivia's story does hint at that in the play in Act II Scene 1 where she does her amazing explanation of her work as an astrophysicist in under two minutes to girl scouts. In this scene she ends by talking about dark matter and how it is the great unknown, nevertheless, holding us together. While she does not say it, it is evident dark matter could very well be 'love.'
If a play could end with a reverberating sound, this one does, echoing from the pages and will have you thinking about it long after you finish. Excellent read, superb story, stunning historical threads and poignant and witty characters, with dialogue that is both stunning and sweet. The title is so apt, and in truth, the real legacy is light and love, for the dual nature of life-- physical and the spiritual.
First, the action takes place in France in the 1700's with Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet, her daughter, husband and younger lover. The story takes place as well in Princeton New Jersey with a female astronomer and her husband as well as Millie, a surrogate for their child and the surrogate's brother Lewis. The parallel of Emilie as an astronomer and physicist, pressed against that of Olivia, also an astronomer, and her husband, a teacher.
In both stories there are at least three "babies" and these include the unplanned pregnancy of Emilie, at 42, that of the surrogate carrying Peter and Olivia' child. Then the third "baby' being born is the discovery of a planet in formation-- one that Olivia discovers and features in the story.
The love story with Voltaire and her younger lover Saint Lambert (a poet in the King's court) is so funny and well told. In the parallel story, Olivia, age 42, is a tenured scientist at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Isaac Newton Institute at Princeton University. Her husband, a schoolteacher is Peter. She is in remission from uterine cancer and can't have child, thus her desire for a surrogate mother to help her and Peter achieve their dream of having a family.
At the other end of the story is Emilie, and her discoveries about energy and mass and light-- are all the more astonishing because they are her real discoveries in history. She used Newton's discoveries and IMPROVED them! e.g. Light has no mass, and it heats and burns because there are different types of light. Emilie is also known for translating into French, and writing an extensive commentary on, Isaac Newton's "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica." The text, published in 1756, is still considered the standard French translation to this day. This is noted in the play by Voltaire, and that it is published posthumously after her death.
The play moves seamlessly, between the eras, and Emilie having a child in her 40's and that danger to a woman of that era. Also, the complex stress of surrogacy for Millie, especially with her brother.
Another level to the story has threads with the role of mothers, and motherhood and is very touching with those scenes and dialogue. What is that responsibility to your children as a parent and how is the role of mother different than that of a father, and how are they similar. Yes, this play was quite thought-provoking.
The other level to the story is the metaphor and the theme, that "Light and Love share the same properties." "Love burns; different types of love carry different amounts of heat. And although we cannot set it, smell it, or touch it, we can feel love. It glows. Love does not have weight! Love has no mass! Otherwise, how would our souls survive the pelting?" So too light, and how Emilie discovers that there are different types of light via her experiments. This is also told with a sense of urgency, as Emilie believes she will not live after childbirth and thus assumes she has these 9 months to finish her life's work, assure her daughter Pauline's future and assuage Voltaire.
Yet another level to the story is the symbolism of the 'apple' - for Newton and his theory of gravity as well as the fact that Voltaire may have invented the story of the 'apple' after having met Newton and writing about it. And the apple itself and an apple tree figure into the ending of the story as well, and I will leave that out so as not to mention any spoilers. It's all cleverly done.
The play has two scenes where characters address the audience too, that is very amusing and surprising. And the ending is a lovely pastiche in the scenes of the characters, and as ghosts, and visionaries, and recognition of descendants-- all tied together.
Voltaire and Emilie were key figures in the entry of the world into the period of Enlightenment. So too perhaps is this era of the 21st century, as man discovers other worlds in the universe. Olivia's story does hint at that in the play in Act II Scene 1 where she does her amazing explanation of her work as an astrophysicist in under two minutes to girl scouts. In this scene she ends by talking about dark matter and how it is the great unknown, nevertheless, holding us together. While she does not say it, it is evident dark matter could very well be 'love.'
If a play could end with a reverberating sound, this one does, echoing from the pages and will have you thinking about it long after you finish. Excellent read, superb story, stunning historical threads and poignant and witty characters, with dialogue that is both stunning and sweet. The title is so apt, and in truth, the real legacy is light and love, for the dual nature of life-- physical and the spiritual.
April 6, 2025
4.5!!!!!
i loved this. this was great, i wanna see it!
i loved this. this was great, i wanna see it!
June 12, 2024
read for mccarter 24-25 season
this was absolutely gorgeous and i can’t wait to see it produced!!!!
read again to do some #dramaturgy and omg … i like it better than the first time. so so excited!!
this was absolutely gorgeous and i can’t wait to see it produced!!!!
read again to do some #dramaturgy and omg … i like it better than the first time. so so excited!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews