Mount Vernon High School students are going back in time for their fall production Radium Girls, written by D. W. Gregory, produced by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.
Radium Girls is a compelling theatrical play based on real historical events in the 1920s. In the show, Grace Fryer (Natalie Stankiewicz), a young teen at the start of the story, works for the U.S. Radium Corporation painting watch dials with a paint that contains radium, an element that glows in the dark and we know today, is toxic. Radium during this time frame was believed to be a miracle, a magical element that could cure diseases as serious as cancer. Soon enough, girls at the factory start dying as a result of radium exposure. Arthur Roeder (Matthew Boehm) the president of the U.S. Radium Corporation is on the other side of the fight against the radium girls as he soon proves to be a multifaceted man who is just trying to do what he thinks is right as others try to push him towards a darker path.
Raymond Berry (Rayne Garcia-Cruz) becomes the lawyer fighting against Edward Markley (Phoenix Bryant) to bring about justice for the factory girls. Grace is fighting for herself and her friends in this tragic but powerful play.
The actors in our show have taken on a new challenge with this show to accurately portray this era. Not to mention, their dedication to taking on the serious topics within the show and handling them with maturity and grace. Most of the cast has taken on multiple roles and have worked to balance all the different personalities and emotions that they must portray for this production.
Let’s not forget about our attentive crew who come in after school and on weekends to create this post-World War I world. Each crew has had different challenges to their tasks but has still managed to get it all done and add their own touches to the show. Multiple costumes, accurate makeup, a set that immerses you in the story with props that elevate the performance along with new marketing opportunities.
Radium Girls will be on stage in Mount Vernon High School’s Andrew Lee Pauley Theater which is also known as the little theater by door 4, on Nov. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m., with a 1p.m. matinee on Nov. 16, with a final performance at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16.
Staying after each show will reward viewers with the pleasure of participating in a talkback. Talkbacks are when certain guests are brought on stage after the show and the audience will have the ability to ask the questions. Some talkbacks happening after the production include certain members of the cast, and production team. Tickets for this show can be purchased online at mvhstheatrearts.com