by Hugh Hunter I often have a problem with plays that center on a historical figure, then create fictitious persons and events to enhance the drama. “Silent Sky” (2011), by Lauren Gunderson, now running at the Drama Group in Germantown, is a case in point. The real Henrietta Leavitt was hired in 1902 to catalog stars from telescopic photographic plates at the Harvard College Observatory. She studied “variable” stars and discovered a fixed ratio between the luminosity of the star and the duration of its pulse from dim to bright (the longer the pulse, the greater the luminosity). Why was that important? For the first time, Henrietta gave astronomers a mathematical way to measure stellar space via the discrepancy between perceived luminosity and true luminosity. (Enter Edwin Hubble and others and the discovery of a vast universe.) In “Silent Sky” playwright Gunderson juices up Henrietta’s revolutionary achievement with fictional characters. She creates the portrait of a Henrietta whose obsessive scientific research is dramatically at odds with the competing claims of romance and family happiness. Henrietta’s two female colleagues are also historical figures: suffragette-minded Annie Cannon (Marjorie Goldman) and Scottish free spirit Williamina Fleming (Carole Mancini). Their banter sprinkles a touch of humor into the play. But Gunderson has Henrietta spend most of her time with a couple of make-believe characters: a mostly fictional sister, Margaret (Ileana Marie Fortuño), to dramatize the pull of family life, and a comically gauche Peter Shaw (David DelBianco) to serve as the love interest. As Henrietta, Lauren Tripolitis is a winning physical presence. With her beautiful smile and bearing, you are on Henrietta’s side when she gazes at the stars and cries out “Where are we?” in wonder and dismay. But Henrietta’s connection to Margaret and Peter feels stilted, as though all the actors know Gunderson’s relationships are contrivances that force them into play-acting. In turning down the appeals of family happiness and romance, you are supposed to appreciate Henrietta’s passion for astronomy by default. Spectacular audio and visual effects may be a better way to convey such enthusiasm. But the Drama Group is not the Wilma Theater, and director Robert Bauer has limited resources at his disposal. It is one thing to create a character loosely based on someone, quite another to present a true historical figure with fictional embellishment. “Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer is about the relationship between Mozart and Salieri. It is an engaging play but also a vicious lie at Salieri’s expense. “Silent Sky” is certainly not vicious. Gunderson admires Henrietta. That a scientist of this stature should languish in obscurity also fits into the feminist paradigm, although astronomers always knew about her. But the play is not engaging, either, a strained and labored script that forces the actors to labor with it. “Silent Sky” runs through March 24 at the Drama Group, located inside the First United Church of Germantown, 6001 Germantown Ave. Tickets are available at the door. More information at www.thedramagroup.org.