Synopsis
In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder, an idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element that shrinks tumors could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation but also with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire. Written with warmth and humor, Radium Girls is a fast-moving, highly theatrical ensemble piece for 10 actors, who play more than 30 parts—friends, coworkers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates and myriad interested bystanders. Called a "powerful" and "engrossing" drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth and the commercialization of science.
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Related Titles
Details
-
Status
In stock
- Type of Show One-act Play
- Product Code RD2000
- Cast Size 10
- Min. Royalty Rate $55/perf
- Cost $10.95
- Approx. Run Time 40 min
Categories
- Target Audience High School | College and Adult
- Performing Group High School | College Theatre
- Genre Comedy | Drama
- ISBN(13) 9781619590076
Customer Reviews
- "This one act drama is a perfect bite-sized piece of theater to help your troupe learn to develop character and hone dramatic acting skills. Audiences love it."
- Review by Bevan Brunelle, Holyoke High School, Holyoke, Mass.
- "Strong script with excellent depth of characters. Good historical importance and literary merit."
- Review by Leslie Graham, Archer City High School, Archer City, Texas
- "It was one of the most impactful plays we have had at our school in some time. It's historical relevance and structure really lend to some great theater. "
- Review by Anthony Schik, Beveridge Magnet School, Omaha, Neb.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
- "Focus on the acting. The set can be very minimal. Make sure your costumes, lighting and sound/music are strong. "
- Tip by Bevan Brunelle, Holyoke High School, Holyoke, Mass.
- "My theatre design class - working remotely - designed the background projection images for each scene. They were very helpful in communicating the audience the shifts in time and location. This was a wonderful ensemble show; due to COVID restrictions, we chose to keep the ensemble visible through the entire show. Actors wore black masks; those who were diseased due to radium poisoning added a bright green masks over their black mask during the scenes in which the audience learned of their infection. "
- Tip by JoBeth Gonzalez, Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, Ohio
- "This worked very well over Zoom. Casting is important, though, as having one actor play two parts in quick succession is less effective when there are fewer ways to show a change in character. Think about casting more actors, or looking at how an actor's portfolio of characters can be more evenly spread throughout the play."
- Tip by Matt Bentley, Sedos, South Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom
- "To prepare for the production and for the students to connect more with the characters and story, we watched a short documentary on the radium girls. This helped immensely as the kids were able to play these characters more truthfully."
- Tip by Anthony Schik, Beveridge Magnet School, Omaha, Neb.
Production Map
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas High School | El Paso | Texas | 3/2/2023 | 5/19/2023 |
| Colorado High School | Colorado City | Texas | 3/1/2023 | 5/31/2023 |
| Wheaton North High School | Wheaton | Illinois | 10/12/2023 | 10/14/2023 |
| Centennial Auditorium | Moose Jaw | Saskatchewan | 4/20/2023 | 4/22/2023 |
| Performers Theater Workshop | Millburn | New Jersey | 8/26/2023 | 8/27/2023 |
| Klein Forest High School | Houston | Texas | 4/11/2023 | 4/15/2023 |
| Greater Miami Adventist Academy | Miami | Florida | 4/20/2023 | 4/20/2023 |
| Bonham H S | Bonham | Texas | 5/19/2023 | 5/19/2023 |
| Centennial Auditorium | Moose Jaw | Saskatchewan | 4/3/2023 | 4/22/2023 |
| Devils Lake High School | Devils Lake | North Dakota | 4/3/2023 | 4/3/2023 |
| The Livery Theatre | Goderich | Ontario | 6/16/2023 | 6/17/2023 |
| Corvallis High School | Corvallis | Oregon | 4/28/2023 | 4/30/2023 |
| Glenrock High School | Glenrock | Wyoming | 10/19/2023 | 10/19/2023 |
| Union Pines High | Cameron | North Carolina | 5/17/2023 | 5/18/2023 |
| Neah-kah-nie High School | Rockaway Beach | Oregon | 5/18/2023 | 5/20/2023 |
| Arts and Communication Magnet Academy | Beaverton | Oregon | 4/20/2023 | 4/21/2023 |
| Patricia E. Paetow High School | Katy | Texas | 5/6/2023 | 5/6/2023 |
| Boise High School | Boise | Idaho | 5/3/2023 | 5/6/2023 |
Gallery
Andover High School, Andover, MA
Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, OH
Lafayette Christian School, LaGrange, GA
Pike County High School, Zebulon, GA
