McCarter Theater Center to Celebrate Women's History Month with LEGACY OF LIGHT by Karen Zacarias

This March, honor Women’s History Month at McCarter Theatre Center with Karen Zacarías’ Legacy of Light, a heartfelt, time-bending comedy directed by McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. Running March 19 - April 6, the play intertwines the true story of 18th-century physicist and mathematician Émilie du Châtelet with that of a modern-day astrophysicist, forging unexpected connections between past and present. Born in 1706, du Châtelet was a visionary scientist whose work helped lay the foundation for Einstein’s E = mc². She translated and expanded upon the theories of Newton and Leibniz, making groundbreaking contributions to physics, astronomy, and mathematics.
 
It is a deliciously quirky comedy that blends realism and fantasy. It’s a celebration of curiosity, ambition, and discovery, exploring the vast differences—and striking similarities—between the past and the present as questions of art, science, love, family, and motherhood forge a connection across the centuries.  
 
Bringing real-world expertise to this production is Dr. Jenny Green, an astrophysicist and Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. A recent recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, Dr. Green serves as a consultant on the play.
 
Karen Zacarías has been hailed as “one of the most produced playwrights in the country” (American Theatre), and Rasmussen is a champion for women in theater, supporting playwrights, directors, designers, and crew alike. Zacarías, who is having a banner year in 2025 with productions across the U.S.—including Shane at Dallas Theater Center and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Age of Innocence at Arena Stage, Just Like Us at the Latino Theater Company, and Native Gardens at Westport Country Playhouse—brings her signature blend of humor and heart to this time-bending comedy. She is also writing the book for a new Broadway musical by Gloria Estefan and her daughter, Emily Estefan. Zacarías is a core founder of the Latino Theatre Commons and the founder of the award-winning Young Playwrights’ Theater, which empowers young writers to share their voices onstage.  Born in Mexico, she comes from a family of storytellers—her grandfather, Miguel Zacarías, was a famed director during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She has built an impressive career as a playwright, with American Theatre Magazine naming her one of the most produced playwrights in the country.  
Zacarías has rewritten and updated Legacy of Light, which premiered in 2009 at Arena Stage in DC where she was writer-in-residence. She adds, “It's a privilege to revisit this play,” says Zacarías. “It’s living art and living science, evolving together.”  Never in my wildest dreams did I think the play would be produced in Princeton, let alone that I’d have the chance to collaborate with a real Princeton astrophysicist.” 
 
In present-day Princeton, an astrophysicist is discovering new planets while dreaming of starting a family. In 18th-century Paris, Émilie du Châtelet (1706–1749)—a brilliant physicist whose genius inspired Voltaire and influenced Einstein’s Theory of Relativity—is running out of time before her baby arrives. Across the ages, but under the same star-filled skies, their stories intertwine in this bright and funny play about life, the universe, and the legacy we leave behind. 

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