No Recombination Without Representation

Description

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.

More Details: 
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. 

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). 

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.

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).

Register for tickets now at https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/calendar/reserve-tickets-to-no-recombination-without-representation/

Current Performance Availability - 
Join a wait list and we will move you in as seats get released!

- There is a limit of four tickets per reservation. If you wish to reserve more than four tickets, please contact the Box Office at 617-576-9278 or tickets@centralsquaretheater.org.

- On the day of the performance, ticket holders who are not in line 15 minutes before the performance will have their tickets released to a wait list.

- If plans change and ticket holders are unable to attend, please let Central Square Theater know as soon as possible by emailing tickets@centralsquaretheater.org with your Order ID and the number of tickets you would like to release. This will allow people on the wait list to attend the performance.