Ada and the Engine at Gunston Arts Center

Ada and the Engine

Gunston Arts Center
2700 S. Lang Street Arlington

From prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson, Ada and the Engine is a whimsical scientific history that once again proves the future is, and has always been, female. Ada Lovelace, the only legitimate child of the amorous poet Lord Byron, had a love of her own: mathematics. Well, that ... plus a certain polymath-inventor, Charles Babbage, famous as "the father of the computer." It's true that Babbage invented the hardware - the Analytic Engine - but the language, the song, the soul of the thing, the programming: that was all Ada.

Thru - Mar 26, 2022

Box Office: 703-228-1850

avantbard.org/project/ada-and-the-engine/

Ada and the Engine Reviews

Average Rating based on 4 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...But it is Soltan who galvanizes the production by channeling Ada's warmth, nervy determination, vulnerability and fervor for math and science. The performance beautifully serves the play's final moments, which elegantly synthesize ideas, themes and emotional currents from earlier scenes. Realized with invaluable assists from lighting/projections designer Ian Claar and sound designer/composer Neil McFadden, it's a moving and thrilling ending to a play that - like many engines - runs smoother at some times than at others."

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- Celia Wren

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

"...It's easy for me to forget that numbers live in everything, but after seeing Ada and the Engine at Avant Bard, it feels like my mind has been opened. The show radiates such a passion for mathematics, and a passion for its protagonist, that it is contagious, living on long after the show. It is a wonderful tribute to the ways we can see numbers if we look and think - and how we will see women in their history if we do the same."

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- Gwyneth Sholar

Washington City Paper - Recommended

"...Director Megan Behm balances the exploration of ideas with the emotional intimacy of the small playing space. Designer Alison Johnson dresses the characters with distinctive color palettes that persist through their costume changes, and Neil McFadden‘s score strikes a similar balance between computer generated and humanistic."

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- Ian Thal

BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended

"...Megan Behm's direction of this whimsical and excitable play transports audience members back in time, while also not forgetting the fact that this play was only published in 2018. This new/old play, set in the round, immediately immerses audiences in as it blends time and technology as well as movement and music. Behm plays thoroughly with the dynamics of this story, especially in its rhythm and pace. What was truly delightful were the several scenes in the play in which the characters exchange letters back and forth. Rather than opting for a character standing statically reading a letter aloud, Behm uses fluid movement across the stage to make a point about communication in these scenes and how they function in the story as a whole. The intricate costume design by Allison Samantha Johnson, accented through the set design by David Ghatan do a good job of transporting the audience into the world through Ada's eyes."

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- Megan Lederman

Ada and the Engine at Gunston Arts Center