A play based on shocking real-life events will open Lancer Productions’ 2024-25 season.
D.W. Gregory’s “Radium Girls” will be presented in the North Scott Fine Arts Auditorium next Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
In 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie revealed the discovery of the element radium, and as they researched further around the turn of the 20th century, they discovered it could be used to treat diseased cells. Radium was hailed as a miracle cure for cancer and other diseases.
But radium had other properties, including luminescence, and glow-in-the-dark watches became all the rage, including with soldiers in the trenches during World War I. Young women were hired in factories to paint the watch dials, including at the United States Radium Corporation in Orange, N.J. The jobs, which paid well for the time, were sought after. The girls were told that the paint was harmless, and they often painted their faces, fingernails and teeth with the radium-based solution. It also got on their clothes, and the Radium Girls would shimmer in the dark.
The girls were told to keep their paintbrushes pointed by licking the tips, causing them to ingest quantities of pure radium. Over time, many of the girls became sick, developing anemia, bone fractures and even necrosis of the jaw. But the companies denied responsibility, going so far as to hire unscrupulous doctors to lie about their conditions. With little other recourse, a group of the Radium Girls, including New Jersey’s Grace Fryer, sued in an attempt to not only get compensation, but to reveal the truth about their occupational conditions.
North Scott students gain real world understanding
Directors Maddie Harbour and Isabel Conner cast the show in June, not only to give the actors more time to learn their lines, but to allow them to research the real-life events.
As part of that historical exploration, the cast took a trip to Ottawa, Ill., over the summer, which was the home of two radium watch dial factories. One of the factories was still in operation until 1978, and the Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to abate the radium contamination since 1986.
Some members of the cast were already familiar with the story of the Radium Girls, including Lauren Pawloski, who considered the story as a topic for a History Day project in junior high. But the actors who were unfamiliar with the story said they were shocked when they started doing research.
“I went home the week after it was announced, and I started reading about it,” said Ryenne Lacher. “I was like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy.’ I saw some of the pictures that came with the articles, and I thought, ‘This is insane.’”
“When we learned about it, I couldn’t believe people would do that to other people,” said Adison Greer. “I found these YouTube documentaries and they talked about the girls outside the factory. And that was really eye-opening, to see that these were real people.”
The trip to Ottawa also left an impression on the actors.
“Before the trip, I knew it was real, but I didn’t understand the severity of it,” said Keegan Panther. “Once we got there, and I got to see the cemetery or where the old building was, it was really, like Adison said, it was really eye-opening. Everything kept piling on top of each other, all the problems.”
“I knew about the factual parts, but going there, seeing those places, going on the tour we went on, it felt a lot more real,” said Collin Meinert. “Especially our tour guide, I really liked the way he explained it. He put into perspective what happened, how these people lived outside of just these numbers and facts. And it helped me so much to put it into perspective.”
“We saw a statue, and I thought it was really beautiful how Ottawa memorializes these women,” added Greer. “During that time period, they were played as like, they had gotten syphilis, or they were horrible people who did bad things. And now they’re paying their respects to these women who were deprived of respect when they needed it the most.”
Jax Martin said the trip also helped him understand the actions of the factory owners and their role in harming the workers.
“They did this purposefully. They hurt these people. They meant to hurt these people. And something else we found out in Ottawa was what happened when they didn’t really face any sort of consequences. What happened when they were able to keep hurting people purposefully without any repercussions.”
“The most profound part for me was being at the cemetery and standing at their graves,” said Pawloski. “These women don’t get to rest. They’re not in their graves. They’re at some laboratory because their bodies are so radioactive they literally can’t be in the ground. That was absolutely gutting to me. These women can’t lay at peace. They’re still being used and used. That really stuck with me through this process.”
“I think it’s important for the audience and the actors to keep in mind that we’re telling the story of real people,” said Gabby Andersen. “These things really did happen, even though it’s highly dramatized and there’s parts that are funny. At the end of the day, it’s a story about real people who lived and died.”
“Playing real characters, you feel a sense of responsibility to honor them and honor all the things they did,” said Lacher. “Because they fought for what they believed in. And they were so injured and so hurt and in so much pain, and they still got up and fought for what they believed in. And that’s so inspiring, and I just want everyone to know that story.”
“I want people to know, this is obviously an awful situation, but similar things still happen in other parts of the world today,” said Meinert. “I want people to know that the girls who fought this were just normal people, they were ordinary people who fought to make a change. They didn’t even continue full schooling or anything. Most of the time they had to work at a factory at a younger age, just to support the family. They fought so hard, and they were just ordinary people. Anyone can do that to make change.”
Martin agreed.
“If the audience goes away with one thing, it should be that change is possible. Even if it takes literally everything you have. You can keep fighting and keep trying to change something like these girls did. A lot of them weren’t around to see it, but they fought, and they were able to get some change.”
“I want the girls to have dignity,” said Pawloski. “I feel like they never got that dignity or that respect. Like I was saying earlier, they never got peace. And maybe this is a different way for them to get it. Knowing their story is really being told and people are learning about it. There’s a lot of comfort from that. I hope this audience can contribute to that for these girls to have.”
The cast includes:
Adison Greer (Grace Fryer); Lauren Pawloski (Irene/Miss Wiley/Board Member 2/Mrs. Michaels); Ryenne Lacher (Kathryn/Board Member 1/Shop Girl/Society Woman/Harriet); Gabby Andersen (Sob Sister/Clerk/Mrs. Fryer/MacNeil); Kaitlyn Knepper (Mrs. Roeder/Madame Curie/Customer/Board Member 3); Jax Martin (Charlie Lee/Bailey/Drinker/Flinn/Male Shopper/Court/Lovesick Cowboy); Brayden Serrano (Berry/Martland/Flinn/Store Owner); Collin Meinert (Tom/Reporter/Knef/Venecine Salesman); Grady Kirst (Markley/VonSochocky/Elderly Widow/Photographer); Keegan Panther (Arthur Roeder).
“Radium Girls” is directed by Maddie Harbour and Isabel Conner. Technical director is Josh Tipsword, assisted by Justin Walker. Stage manager is Mya Kelsey, assisted by Charli Conner.
Hair and makeup design is by Gabby Andersen, Charlotte Madden and Hannah Nelson. Costume designer is Brooke Rich, and the costume crew includes Madi Hillmann.
Aiden Kelsey is the lighting designer, assisted by Isaiah Serrano. The sound designer/soundboard operator is Madi Brus. Props master is Haidyn Koberg. Scenic/painting is by Emma Zrostlik, assisted by Riley Johnson. The stage crew includes Charli Conner and Kallen Rohlf, and Carter Dorr is rigging operator.
Performances are Thursday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. There is no Friday show.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens, and may be purchased at the door or at tix.nshslp.com.