Rosalind who? Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre takes on the story of the unknown DNA discoverer in ‘Photograph 51’

Karen Paisley, like many, had never heard of Rosalind Franklin. Studying biology in high school, she’d heard only of James Watson and Francis Crick, who came up with the DNA double helix in a discovery that changed the world of science.

So she was enthralled when she happened upon a third scientist — a woman — whose story had been left out of the history books but was presented onstage in a new play by Anna Ziegler. Right away she picked up the script for “Photograph 51,” read it that night at the gym and ordered copies for her own production.

“You don’t often get to tackle plays that you’ve never heard of,” said Paisley, the artistic director of the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre. “It’s a story of some really awesome women — and some really awesome men. And I like that. There’s no real villain in this story.”

In a regional premiere, Paisley and the MET will present “Photograph 51,” opening Thursday. Local actress Amy Attaway plays Rosalind Franklin, the scientist whose X-ray photographs of DNA molecules paved the way for the discovery of the double helix model.

The play sheds light on her relationship with Watson and Crick and, despite the credit she didn’t receive for it, just how much of an influence she had on their discoveries. It was her 51st photo of a particular strand of DNA that led the other scientists to hit upon the double helix.

Unlike previous productions (including one starring Nicole Kidman), the MET version will depart from a realistic set full of scientific instruments in a laboratory. The production will entail creative lighting to represent X-rays taken onstage, but overall the set is spare, to better highlight the real importance of the play, Paisley said.

“I’m not trying to build a 1953 lab,” she said. “The play isn’t about the experiment. The play is about the relationships between these scientists.” And it’s told in layman’s terms, not scientific jargon.

Aside from Watson and Crick, the play focuses on the tempestuous relationship between Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Rather than the female “assistant” he thought he would be working with him, Franklin turned out to be an expert in her field who refused to submit to his sexist views.

Like another famous female scientist, Marie Curie, Franklin was doomed by the work she committed her life to; she developed ovarian cancer from the X-rays and died at 37. This, combined with the lack of credit for her work, makes her an irresistible character for Paisley. She compared the show to the new movie “Hidden Figures,” which also presents the lost story of incredible women in science.

“Rosalind Franklin was doing that kind of math to figure out the DNA double helix,” Paisley said. “Their model, in my opinion, was absolutely based on her data. And they did not give her credit for it.”

Still, the show isn’t written to discredit Watson and Crick — just to provide another (long lost) side of the story.

“At several times, I’ve been in rehearsal with everybody and kind of been thinking how cool it is to have the opportunity to be thinking about these things and working on it,” Paisley said. “We’ve been delighted to explore these people.

“I think young women, and young men, too, will really be able to get into this character.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Rosalind who? Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre takes on the story of the unknown DNA discoverer in ‘Photograph 51’."