In its first performance of the year, the Westbury Christian Theatre program presents the historical drama Radium Girls from December 1-3.
The play opens Thursday, December 1, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The upcoming shows are Friday, December 2, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, December 3, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Admission is $15 for reserved seating, $10 for general seating. Student tickets are $5. Purchase tickets at the door or here
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. 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.
Q&A with Directors Ronnie Blaine and Malaika Lund
What do you hope the audience experiences while watching Radium Girls?
RB: Amazing courage and bravery can rise from the most underestimated and underappreciated. Grace [the lead character] is a young girl, only in her teens who never spoke up for herself and always did what she was told because that is how her parents raised her. Yet, once the shameless and unjust actions of a huge corporation claim the lives of her friends, she summons strength from within to do what’s right and hold them accountable against all odds.
ML: There is no such thing as being too young or not being educated enough to make a change. These were young girls from poor backgrounds and little education that stood up for what they believed in, regardless of all of the odds stacked against them. Their sacrifices and bravery shaped so much of what we take for granted today.
Is there a specific scene you are looking forward to seeing? If so, why?
RB: Grace has a monologue directed to her mother that sums up the message of the play for me. She tells her mom that the company knew that she would consider herself too small and insignificant to make a fuss about what was going on even though she knew. This speech hits home for me because too often our youth, specifically our young women are made to feel like they have no voice and they need to stand down no matter how righteous their cause may be. “That is what they were counting on.”
ML: There is an amazing scene with Kathryn, Grace and Landon as Kathryn is searching for answers at the records office. In that moment we learn just how much these girls suffered as well as the obstacles they faced from the public and government. In this scene, Kathryn’s persistence and desperation sets the tone for how Grace later responds to their situation.
What is one of the biggest challenges of the show?
RB: Definitely one of the biggest challenges for most of our productions would be scheduling. Trying to coordinate a cast of 20 students who all have different extracurricular obligations is never easy. It truly takes a village. Thankfully, our athletics department, as well as the VEX, engineering and fellow fine arts departments all make a concerted effort to be as flexible with scheduling as possible to allow our students to participate. Still nothing is as important as all of our amazing parents! Along with our incredible PTO, our cast parents are the glue that holds this entire show together. From feeding us amazing meals on those late tech nights to setting up seats for our audience to sit in, it is without a doubt the WCS Families that make it happen!
ML: I would say one of the biggest challenges of the show is also one of our biggest blessings. We have so many new students participating in the production this year. This includes students new to Westbury Christian School as well as students who have never done a production before. Our veteran students have done an excellent job with supporting the newer cast and crew members and “showing them the ropes.” The new actors and crew members have done amazing jobs with reaching out for assistance when needed and building relationships with the veteran cast and crew members in order to ensure success with this production.
How have students been preparing? How would you describe the preparation?
ML: This has been a demanding process for our cast, especially for our younger students as the play is very serious in tone due to its historical context. Mrs. Hatfield and Mrs. Román worked with our cast members to help them to understand the context of the show and what informed the decisions the different characters made. The students have worked hard to support one another and it has been amazing watching them research more into their individual characters and connect to the show.
I heard the 5th grade class is doing the stage crew! How are they doing?
ML: It has been great seeing the 5th grade class step up and join the stage crew. I had the opportunity to work with many of these young students in Mary Poppins Jr. last year, and it is amazing to see how much their love of theater has grown. They are working very hard, and it is often difficult to tell that this is the first time they have ever done stage crew for a show!
Anything else you would like to share?
RB: I cannot overstate what a privilege it is to watch these young people grow in self-confidence and self-assuredness. It is truly a blessing.
ML: I am so excited to see Westbury Christian School’s interpretation of Radium Girls. This is my third time working on this show, and each time has been from a different perspective. It has been fun to see how these students and Mr. Blaine take this show and put their own stamp on it!
We have been blessed to have three of our alumni return to participate in the crew for Radium Girls. Jill Chauvin ’22 has returned in the position of Stage Manager, and is fully utilizing her experience from Fourth Wall Theater to elevate the theater program here at WCS. Sarah Asteriou ‘22 has returned to act as our props master and has been thriving taking what she has learned in the WCS theater program to guide the young crew members and create amazing props for the show. Finally, Andrew Archer ‘20 has returned as our lighting designer and has brought with him his training from University of Houston as well as the professional work he has done with lighting and sound design.