From March 11-15, the University of Missouri Department of Theatre put on a production of “Silent Sky” by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson. In early February, Gunderson came under fire when her name appeared in documents that connected her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Gunderson appears nine times in the Epstein files as the co-sender of a series of electronic invitation emails sent to Epstein between March 2012 and May 2016. Through Paperless Post, an online invitation card software, Gunderson and her ex-husband, Nathan Wolfe, sent Epstein an invitation to their wedding, a holiday card and birth announcements for their two sons. Wolfe was identified 589 times in the Epstein files.

Talia Gritzmacher, the director of Mizzou Theatre’s production of “Silent Sky,” said she and her assistant director were aware of the controversy, but in consideration of the play’s feminist message, decided to continue the show — without informing the cast of Gunderson’s connections to the Epstein files.

Gunderson’s play canceled in Rhode Island

In the theater world, Gunderson is known for her work that highlights prominent women in science and the arts.

On Feb. 4, after Gunderson and Wolfe’s association with Epstein was revealed, the Contemporary Theater Company in Rhode Island announced the cancellation of its production of “The Revolutionists,” another one of Gunderson’s plays. In a since-deleted Facebook post, the company condemned Gunderson and Wolfe’s actions and stated it would not be producing any of Gunderson’s plays in the future unless “exonerating information” was released.

In an Instagram post later that day, Gunderson vehemently denied ever meeting or knowing “the monster Jeffrey Epstein.” She clarified that she had no personal communication with Epstein, was unaware of Wolfe’s communication with Epstein and was given the emailing list containing Epstein’s name by Wolfe.

“As a storyteller primarily of heroines, I am nauseated to have even the most remote and incidental association with this awful predator,” she wrote in the post.

On Feb. 5, the Contemporary Theater Company posted an update to Facebook expressing gratitude for Gunderson’s statement and that it had communicated with her agent. They explained that actors dropping their audition appointments, combined with Gunderson’s delayed comment, led to the cancellation. The company noted they did not intend to “mar” Gunderson’s reputation and looked forward to producing more of her plays in the future.

In a statement made to Playbill on Feb. 5, Gunderson said she was “shocked and appalled” by the criticisms she faced and suggested that it was a continuation of a “history of the public rushing to vilify women without curiosity or compassion for their point of view, not to mention the truth.”

Despite Gunderson’s denials of any direct encounters with Epstein or prior knowledge of his relationship with her ex-husband, an email conversation between Wolfe and Epstein in 2011 may suggest otherwise. In the chain of emails, Epstein writes, “Your fiance is great … That was fun.” This was in reference to a planned meeting between Epstein and Wolfe that had taken place the day prior.

On Feb. 5, Gunderson told the San Francisco Chronicle that she understood how Epstein’s reply could be misinterpreted and that Wolfe had perhaps spoken about her to Epstein. She maintained that she had not been present at the meeting.

Wolfe, a virologist and former Stanford University professor, was one of Epstein’s many close academic correspondents. In one email, Wolfe invited Epstein to a dinner with “hottie interns” from the World Economic Forum, where Wolfe served as a Young Global Leader in 2010.

Wolfe also discussed his research with Epstein in hopes of receiving funding, which he never secured, according to recent reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2010, Wolfe told Epstein he was working on “developing a female viagra,” among other research goals.

In 2013, Wolfe emailed Epstein about more research funding for a “horny virus hypothesis.” The email included a formal proposal, explaining that the study would investigate the prevalence of “vaginal and penile microbiota” among undergraduate students and whether “the presence of certain microorganisms increases sexual activity.” A smartphone application would have been used to gather data such as participants’ geographical location.

How Mizzou’s ‘Silent Sky’ director moved forward

The planning for Mizzou’s production of “Silent Sky” began last April when director Talia Gritzmacher, a graduate research assistant in Mizzou Theatre and Performance Studies, first proposed “Silent Sky” to faculty. Before cast auditions on Jan. 30 and 31, Mizzou Theatre was planning design and production and releasing marketing material. The first rehearsal occurred on Feb. 1 — three days before Gunderson’s ties to Epstein were revealed.

Assistant Director Reagan Venturi shared the news about Gunderson’s association with Epstein and the decisions made by the Contemporary Theater Company, with Gritzmacher, when it came to light. While the two discussed the controversy during production, they elected not to inform their cast and crew to avoid complicating rehearsals. Gritzmacher only read up on the controversy in more detail once “Silent Sky” opened on March 11.

“You try to make (theater) as safe a space as possible because you’re going to be dealing with, you know, potentially things like physical intimacy, like grief, that requires some additional protection,” Gritzmacher said. “So if somebody were to hinder our process by continuing to bring up some of the intricacies of the Epstein file in a way that was unhelpful to our rehearsal process, then that … would have been something that we would have to have a discussion about.”

However, Gritzmacher added that these conversations would not have been ignored if they were brought up.

“We were not asking (them) to not talk about it,” Gritzmacher said. “Bottom line, some of the toxic stuff that Lauren Gunderson’s ex-husband was involved with, some of the controversies with Epstein himself, unless we’re doing a play that really invites that because of thematic reasons … I have to put my foot down and say ‘No, we have to keep this a safe place.’”

Although Gritzmacher and Venturi did not bring the issue to upper administration, Gritzmacher felt that if they had, the conversation would have been welcomed.

According to Gritzmacher, “Silent Sky” was much further along in its production process than the Contemporary Theater Company had been in its production of “Revolutionists,” and proposing a replacement for “Silent Sky” would not have been feasible.

“There wouldn’t have been time to go through another season selection process, another proposal process, another figuring out what other play would get put in and what sort of actors would be needed,” Gritzmacher said.

Gritzmacher recognized the need for attention to the social and political context surrounding performance art in academic theater.

“But at the same time, there’s something very beautiful about being able to take the politics and everything aside and have one safe place to just focus on craft because that’s something that Jeffrey Epstein or this political situation cannot take away from us,” Gritzmacher said.

She also considered how the thematic ideas of “Silent Sky” might contribute to the broader political conversation on violence against women — shaped by the release of the Epstein files — compared to “The Revolutionists.”

“The Revolutionists” tells the story of four heroines who were beheaded during France’s Reign of Terror and highlights themes such as female sexuality and violence against women. Gritzmacher offered that such themes may have been too easily associated with Epstein’s crimes against women, thus making the play more controversial to perform.

Conversely, “Silent Sky” showcases the discoveries and scientific breakthroughs of unsung female astronomers.

“(Silent Sky) is more about giving women voices, and so … it didn’t make sense to be like, ‘And we’re gonna take away the voices of these women and erase them further,’” Gritzmacher said. “’Henrietta Leavitt, Williamina Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon — the main real-life scientists that this play is based on — none of their names are in the Epstein files as far as I can tell, right?”

Gritzmacher’s overall opinion of Gunderson and her work has not shifted despite the controversy. However, she believes Gunderson could have responded to the situation with more understanding and empathy, given the nature of the content found in Wolfe’s years-long correspondence with Epstein.

“The things that (Wolfe) was talking about (in the Epstein files) were pretty questionable, right?” Gritzmacher said. “And for her to not acknowledge why somebody — especially as information was sort of slowly trickling out — why somebody wouldn’t pa...

The Maneater

Message History

Delivery option(s)