By Claire DeMarco
It was groundbreaking news when Marie Curie and her husband Pierre discovered radium in 1898. Considered a cure-all for a plethora of conditions, it was enthusiastically used to treat every kind of conceivable illness or ailment. That passion carried over into its inclusion as an enhancement into many common every day manufactured products (like toothpaste).
It’s the 1920’s and Grace Fryer (Elena Falgione), Kathryn Schaub (Emily Loecken) and Irene Rudolph (Carly Chotiner) work for the United States Radium Corporation. They are young and full of life. Fryer talks of her upcoming marriage and future with Tom Kreider (Benjamin Green).
The radium craze carried over into the manufacture of watches. By mixing radium in with the paint applied to the dials of a watch, the timepiece glows in the dark. Instructed to provide a tighter, stronger paint application on the dials, the girls wet the tip of the brushes in between their lips.
The girls begin to develop ailments that cause teeth and bone decay. Never finding any solution to these ailments, they elevate their concerns to their employer, Arthur Roeder (Frederick Coleman). He and other members of the board of United States Radium Corporation disavow any connection between the girls’ illnesses and radium, even though they know it’s true. Their greed and reputation get in the way of any humanity or concern for their workers.
As more of the girls develop debilitating illnesses and/or die, their story draws attention from reporters Sob Sister (Megan May) and Reporter (Matt Solter).
It is Fryer and the other victims who ultimately stand up to United States Radium Corporation, forcing a law suit against their employer. Through their courage, Labor Laws are created to protect individual workers, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Falgione is superb as Grace Fryer. She successfully transitions from the youthful factory worker full of life for the future into a serious grown up faced with physical problems. Carrying the New Jersey accent, Falgione expresses much of her feelings through clever and subtle facial expressions. Her emotional range is stellar.
As the arrogant and greed pushing boss of United States Radium, Coleman’s defiant support of radium painting changes from refusal to accept its dire consequences. Coleman successfully transitions to the next stages – anger at the consequences of his negligence to a final remorseful acceptance of the truth.
Schaub’s youthfulness and dreams evaporate as she succumbs slowly to the radiation poisoning. Her emotional appeal to Fryer that their situation is serious is intense.
May is delightful as the exuberant reporter. She exudes immense pleasure in her job and constantly writes notes with a pencil that moves at lightning speed. As the radium story finds more and more news coverage, May’s insertion into the coverage (with a never-ending smile) becomes more aggressive as she attempts to sensationalize the afflicted girls’ conditions.
Solter as Reporter often provides news coverage in competition with May and their rivalry as the radium news and the affected girls become more prominent, so does their physical aggressiveness towards one another. Their encounters provide some needed respite from the sadness around them.
This is an excellent production of a serious play sprinkled with a few drops of comic relief.
“The Radium Girls” is based on a true story.
The set is dominated by a large clock (stage right). It is an important component of the production as it chimes when time passes. There is a higher platform on the stage where most of the bosses, the board and the court scenes occur. Stage level scenes are dominated by the girls – their work and home environments. It’s an unspoken visual that suggests a hierarchy between two different worlds.
Great job by Hair and Make-Up Designer Jessica Scanga. The make-up as the girls’ symptoms began to appear were subtle but effective (no lipstick, paler face make-up).
Kudos to Director Nicole Zalak.
“The Radium Girls” was written by D. W. Gregory.
-CED
“The Radium Girls” is a production of The Heritage Players. Performances run from April 26 – 28 and May 3 – 5 at Seton Center, 1900 Pioneer Avenue, Brookline 15226.
