Fulbright specialist Heather Massie will present "HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr" at Gamut Classic Theatre, 15 N. Fourth St., Harrisburg. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Written and performed by Massie, the show features the unexpected scientific genius of Hollywood screen star and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Massie has toured the show internationally to theaters, festivals, science centers, technology conferences, universities, schools, and museums, garnering 14 awards. Most recently, she served as a Fulbright specialist on a six-week tour of the show in South Africa through the U.S. State Department, World Learning, and the U.S. Embassy South Africa.
"HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr" explores the life, inventions and person of Lamarr, a Viennese-born Hollywood film star of the 1930s to the 1950s. While married to Austrian arms dealer Fritz Mandl, Lamarr stored away knowledge of munitions. She employed this knowledge to support the U.S. Navy's war effort during World War II by inventing the Secret Communication System with composer George Antheil to make torpedoes more accurate. Also referred to as frequency hopping or spread spectrum technology, her invention is used today in cell phones, Wi-Fi, CDMA, GPS, Bluetooth and myriad other wireless systems.
Massie studied astrophysics with dreams of becoming an astronaut before studying theater arts at the Virginia Tech School of the Arts and becoming a professional actress. As Lamarr, she interacts with the audience and plays the 33 other characters in Lamarr's story, including Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, and Louis B. Mayer. Throughout the show, she seeks to inspire audiences, to encourage young women in science and technology, and to establish Lamarr as a role model for intelligence, ingenuity, and invention. This is the first in her planned trilogy of solo plays celebrating women in science.
Ticket prices will vary. For more information or to purchase tickets, readers may visit http://www.gamuttheatre.org/tickets.
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