Night Sky

Night Sky is a 1991 play by Susan Yankowitz, which originally premiered in New York starring Joan MacIntosh, under the direction of Joseph Chaikin, whose personal struggles with stroke and aphasia were the original inspiration for the play. It was later produced Off-Broadway in a revised version under the direction of Daniella Topol and featuring Jordan Baker in the main role. Plot The play is set in modern times, and theatrically explores what Dr. Stephen Hawking called the two mysteries remaining to us: the brain and the cosmos. Anna, a brilliant and articulate astronomer, has her sights set on a promising academic career. However, her life is suddenly turned upside-down when she is struck by a car and develops aphasia. Without the ability to effectively communicate, as a "hodge-podge of unconnected words alternately confusing, funny, original and wise – and sometimes all four" becomes her normal pattern of speech, Anna's life becomes increasingly more difficult, in dealing with her lover, a teen-aged daughter, and attempting to continue her professional career. However, her condition isn't completely irreversible, and it is the process of Anna's harrowing recovery that is the heart of the story. Along the way, the audience also encounters another aphasia patient, Anna's therapist, and other individuals who misunderstand her condition, all as Anna tries to recover and to deliver her research paper at a prestigious conference in Paris.