Photograph 51

What playwright Anna Ziegler has achieved in her intriguing portrait of the British scientist Rosalind Franklin is a remarkable balance of scientific subject matter and theatrical storytelling. Franklin's role in the discovery of DNA's double helix—the only woman among a raft of male scientists—is here made clear in a play that glows with intelligence and humanity. This is a complex story filled with complex characters that Ziegler tells with clarity and economy. It's a pleasure to be in the presence of such assured writing. She gives full weight to Franklin's achievement without allowing the play to become a feminist tract or turning Franklin's thieving male cohorts and competitors into dyed-in-the-wool villains. This tale of a lone, wondrous woman amidst a casual conspiracy of men makes for compelling theater.

At King's College, London, Franklin (Kristen Bush) joins Maurice Wilkins (Kevin Collins) and Ph.D. student Raymond Gosling (David Gelles), who are working on the DNA molecule. Franklin applies her expertise in X-ray diffraction and discovers that there are two strands—A and B—of DNA. Friction with Wilkins soon begins. Meanwhile, at Cambridge, American James Watson (Haskell King) and Britisher Francis Crick (Jeremy Webb) are also trying to determine the DNA structure. It is then that the fiercely independent Franklin produces an image—photograph 51—that shows the DNA molecule to have a double helix. She puts the plate away, but Gosling shows it to Wilkins, his boss, who, disenchanted with Franklin, informs Watson and Crick. Thus the theft is complete.

On Nick Francone's black-and-white chemistry set of a set, Linsay Firman confidently directs an accomplished cast, who do honor to this first-class material. Bush's detailed portrayal of Franklin is convincingly difficult and moving by turns. As Wilkins, Collins likewise conveys a complicated character with ease. Zeigler has diluted Watson's villainy with humor, which King delivers with deftness, while Webb's comical Crick is blatantly British. Benjamin Pelteson, as Don Caspar, an American disciple of Franklin's, impresses as a sympathetic soul in Franklin's world of nonchalant vipers.

Dr. Rosalind Franklin deserves greater fame, just as this play about her deserves a wider audience.



Presented by the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 W. 52nd St., NYC. Nov. 1–21. Mon., Wed.–Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 7 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (Sun., Nov. 5, performance is at 5 p.m.) (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org.