ANNOUNCING: NO RECOMBINATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

CAMBRIDGE (April 10, 2026) – The MIT Museum, Central Square Theater, and the City of Cambridge are pleased to announce a partnership around a new theatrical production: No Recombination Without Representation. Bringing history back to the present and exploring civic engagement in science, the piece reenacts the 1976 Cambridge City Council hearings on the ethics and safety of new genetic research, staged in the very room where the debates happened fifty years ago. Performances will occur on June 13, 14, and 21, 2026 at Sullivan Chamber in Cambridge City Hall. All shows are free and open to the public with registration.

Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology, which combines DNA from different organisms, has produced life-saving discoveries such as synthetic insulin and gene therapy. Yet in its early days, when research impacts and potential innovations were unknown, it sparked the public’s fear of possible “Frankenstein bacteria.” This led to national debate and the aforementioned 1976 Cambridge City Council hearings on a new lab designed for conducting rDNA research in the area. As a result of the hearings, a citizen-led review board emerged to create research guidelines, transforming Cambridge into the biotech hotspot it is today — the first city in the United States to adopt research guidelines from a deliberative community process. These debates highlight the transformative power of civic engagement in the sciences — a lesson that remains pressingly relevant today in discussions of AI and other emerging technologies.

“The heated debate that took place in the Council chamber of Cambridge City Hall exactly half a century ago has a powerful contemporary resonance,” states Michael John Gorman, The Mark R. Epstein (Class of 1963) Director, MIT Museum. “How should citizens be involved in assessing and governing the risks of emerging technologies? Through involving citizens in deliberating over the future of science, these hearings played a crucial role in igniting the biotechnology revolution and the birth of Kendall Square as ‘the most innovative square mile on the planet.’”

This project came to life as the leadership of the MIT Museum and Central Square Theater (CST) reflected on the continued relevance of these debates as the occasion reached its semicentennial. Central Square Theater has a history of collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, the nation’s only on-going partnership between a professional theater company and a world-class research institution. Together with playwright Patrick Gabridge (the founder of Plays in Place) and director Debra Wise (co-founder of Catalyst Collaborative@MIT), both experts on staging in non-traditional theater locations, this partnership will highlight the ongoing necessity of citizen participation in scientific discussions. The City of Cambridge was eager to use the Sullivan Chamber to set the backdrop for this key moment in history.

“I am thrilled to help bring this dramatic chapter of Cambridge history to life in the Sullivan Chamber! We're creating an immersive experience that begins as audiences come up the City Hall steps — ​ demonstrators for and against the building of new laboratories for rDNA research. This dramatic hearing set a new path toward citizen engagement with science — a perfect project for Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, Central Square Theater's partnership with the Institute, with over 20 years of making vibrant connections between audiences, scientists, and artists to help guide our collective future,” says Debra Wise, Co-Chair and Co-Founder of Catalyst Collaborative@MIT

“Cambridge has always believed the public deserves a seat at the table, in government, in innovation, and in science,” said Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui. “Fifty years ago, that belief played out right here in Sullivan Chamber at City Hall, when our City Council took on one of the most charged scientific debates of its time and shaped the city we know today. What followed was a testament to what becomes possible when Cambridge finds a way through uncertainty. We are proud to partner with the MIT Museum and Central Square Theater to bring this pivotal moment back to life in the very room where it happened.”

The 50-minute production will condense the events of the debates into a single production, with actors playing some of the key participants including Mayor Alfred Vellucci, City Councilors Saundra Graham and David Clem, and scientists David Baltimore (MIT), Ruth Hubbard (Harvard University), Jonathan King (MIT), Mark Ptashne (Harvard University), and Maxine Singer (National Institutes of Health). The piece was made possible through the generous contributions of MIT Museum supporters Phil and Ann Sharp, MIT’s Department of Science, Technology, and Society, and Central Square Theater supporters Nagesh Mahanthappa and Valentine Talland. This program is part of the MIT Museum’s year-long exploration of TIME, and is part of the Massachusetts 250 activities celebrating the many “firsts” and innovations created in our state through the last 250 years, presenting a unique take on revolution.

This production pairs with a symposium at the MIT Museum on Friday, June 12, titled Existential Risk, Emerging Technology, and Democracy: The Cambridge Recombinant DNA Debate, 50 Years On. This program will bring together eyewitnesses, historians, scientists, policymakers, and journalists to explore how societies have identified, debated, and governed potentially world-altering technologies, from these recombinant DNA debates of the 1970s to current conversations around AI and synthetic biology. The symposium is structured as a series of semi-moderated conversations examining key questions such as who raises the alarm, how institutions respond, and how public trust is built and maintained over time, hosted by Ian Coss, creator of the Big Dig podcast from GBH News.

NOTES TO EDITORS

PRODUCTION DESCRIPTION:
​On a hot summer evening in 1976, the Cambridge City Council faced a packed hearing room—and a decision that would echo across the globe. At the center of it all stood Mayor Al Vellucci: sharp-tongued, fearless, and ready to take on science itself. The issue? A new biohazard lab designed for groundbreaking recombinant DNA research—celebrated by some as the future of science, feared by others as the birthplace of “Frankenstein bacteria.” Nobel Prize-winning scientists, passionate citizens, politicians, and the global press all converged on Cambridge to confront one explosive question: Who gets to decide the boundaries of scientific discovery?

Fifty years later, this immersive theatrical experience, staged in the very same space where this conversation originally took place, feels more prescient than ever. As viewers relive the tension, the debate, and the moment that turned local politics into a worldwide reckoning and that formed the Kendall Square that we know today, it will become clear that discussions around civic engagement in science and technology are just as relevant today as they were half a century ago.

Stay after the show to engage in thought-provoking conversation about the legacy of the hearing, the power of public oversight, and the future of community-driven science.

PUBLIC PERFORMANCES:

​Sullivan Chamber, Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
​2:00 pm and 7:00 pm on:

All shows are free and open to the public with registration strongly recommended and seating first come, first served.

The City provides auxiliary aids, alternative format materials, and reasonable accommodations upon request to the Office of the City Clerk. (phone: 617-349-4260, TTY/TDD 617-349-4242).

[REGISTRATION LINK]

BILLING:
​Executive Producer: Michael John Gorman, MIT Museum ​
​Lead Producer: Catherine Carr Kelly, Central Square Theater ​
​Co-Producer: Keelin Caldwell, MIT Museum ​
​Playwright: Patrick Gabridge, Founder of Plays in Place ​
​Director: Debra Wise ​
​Content Advisors: Luis Campos (Rice University), Florencia Pierri (MIT Museum), Robin Scheffler (MIT)

ABOUT THE MIT MUSEUM:
​The MIT Museum welcomes all to participate in MIT’s unique culture of problem-solving and playful creativity, bringing together science, technology, art, and design in surprising ways to explore potential futures.

In addition to exhibitions, programs, a maker hub and learning labs, the museum invites visitors to take part in ongoing research while demonstrating how science and innovation will shape the future of society. In October 2022, a reinvented MIT Museum opened in a new location in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA.

Highlights of the Museum include freshly conceived exhibitions featuring objects from the Museum’s collections of over 1.5 million objects, along with loans of art and other objects; the Lee Family Exchange event space for public dialogue and conversation; the hands-on Heide Maker Hub, where audiences can create and invent; and an expanded MIT Museum Store.

The MIT Museum is open daily 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

For more information, including accessibility and amenities, please visit mitmuseum.mit.edu

Address: MIT Museum, Gambrill Center, 314 Main Street (MIT Building E28), Cambridge, MA 02142. Located next to the Kendall/MIT MBTA Red Line stop at the new Kendall Gateway to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Campus.

ABOUT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER:
​Central Square Theater (CST) explores social justice, science and gender politics through theater. Combining artistic excellence, cross disciplinary collaboration and community engagement, CST creates theater where points of view are heard, perspective shifts, and change can happen. With the oldest female-led theater organization in Greater Boston, CST is an innovator in the nonprofit arts field in collaborative leadership. CST engages over 35,000 people annually through live performance, rigorous youth education, and community programs. CST works closely with MIT on Catalyst Collaborative@MIT (CC@MIT), one of the only nationwide partnerships between a world class research institute and a professional theater. CC@MIT creates and presents plays that deepen public engagement with science, while providing creative and emotional experiences not available in other forms of dialogue about science.

For more information, please visit centralsquaretheater.org.

FOR PRESS RELEASE ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: ​

Sasha Wallinger, Director of Marketing and Communications, MIT Museum ​
​sashaw@mit.edu

Nicholas Peterson, Director of Marketing, Central Square Theater ​ ndp@centralsquaretheater.org

Jill Robinson, Camron
​jill.robinson@camronglobal.com

Adam Mulder, Camron
​adam.mulder@camronglobal.com