MHS Drama Club to tell real-life story of Radium Girls
For Hub City Times
MARSHFIELD – In their fall production, the Marshfield High School Drama Club will tell the true story of America’s radium dial painters and their fight for justice.
The shining “Radium Girls” of Orange, NJ, looked like angels in the night; they would come home from work with dust from the Radium Dial factory on them and literally glow. In the late 1920s, radium was a miracle cure. It appeared to cure cancer when consumed, and illuminated the watch faces of the dials for the men in the war front.
When the girls went to the factory, which paid the highest rates of any factory around, they were among the elite who worked there. Only when the girls become very sick from mysterious illnesses, do they start to question the paint they had been ingesting and exposed to while they worked.
This is the story of the hope and determination of Grace Fryer, Katherine Schaub and Irene Rudolph – a fast paced show that takes the audience through the triumphs and pains of what the girls underwent to receive compensation for their workplace injuries. The presentation leaves the audience knowing more about the history of these women who helped reform workplace compensation, eventually aiding in OSHA legislation.
The cast of 35 students and 15 crew members includes: Makenna Yeske, junior, as Grace Fryer; Jarreth Schaefer, senior, as the Radium Dial Corporation CEO; Rhiannon Manlick, junior, as Katherine Schaub; and Caroline Thompson, sophomore, as Irene Rudolph.
The show will be presented Nov. 15-16 at 7:30 p.m., at Marshfield High School.
Tickets may be purchased for the show online at www.showtix4u.com until 4 p.m. the day of the show, or in the MHS Main Office until Nov. 15. Tickets will also be available in the lobby the day of the show. Will call tickets may be purchased by calling the main office at 715-387-8464.
This show is suitable for ages 12 and older, due to the scientific and legal subject matter and interest level.
A history and science display about the Radium Girls will also be featured in the main lobby during the show.
