Students of Sierra Vista High School’s theatre program took to the stage Thursday, October 19, 2023, for their opening night performance of this year’s fall production, Radium Girls. Filled with horrifying special effects, this true story captivated audiences and highlighted the stunning talent of the SVHS theatre department.
Radium Girls is set in the 1920s and tells a true story of factory girls who worked for the U.S. Radium Corporation painting watch dials so they could glow in the dark. The key ingredient that made this paint glow, the highly radioactive and poisonous substance, Radium, which was widely promoted by female physicist and chemist, Madame Curie. The show featured costumes from the time and extensive glow-in-the-dark theatrics. As the stage was lined with black lights, the actresses portraying these factory girls were illuminated, as was the story they told.
During the first act, Irene Rudolph, a factory worker, begins bleeding at the mouth and dies on a factory table. Kinsey Hinchcliffe who portrayed Irene comments, “It was fun seeing the crowd’s reaction to the blood and my death, which fueled the plot. The blood capsule pop and reveal always had the audience captivated.” Following the death of Irene, many other girls working in the factory begin to fall ill, and, as reporters start asking questions, the executive members of the U.S. Radium Corporation do whatever they can to move attention away from the terror occurring behind closed doors.
The show mostly follows the story of the main character, Grace Fryer, as it features scenes that give insight into her home life with her mother, Mrs. Fryer, and her fiance, Tom. At the end of the first act, Grace Fryer enlists the help of the New Jersey Consumers League as representatives Miss Wiley and Mr. Berry accept her case to sue the U.S. Radium Corporation for the cause of her illness and the deaths of her friends. The second act follows the uncertainties of the lawsuit and the downfalls of Grace’s life both financially and romantically. Soon, the case proceeds to trial, and audiences remain hopeful for a happy ending. However, the trial date changes, and, having progressed in her illness, Grace and her legal team know that she will not live long enough to attend the trial. In the end, the U.S. Radium Corporation provides Grace with settlement money and she passes away, reuniting with her fallen factory girls.
Radium Girls required an extreme level of commitment and dedication from the cast, crew, and director. After months of planning rehearsing, and performing previews for English classes, the three-night showcase concluded ultimately successful for the Sierra Vista High School theatre department. Hinchcliffe comments, “I feel like the shows were pretty successful, but it could have had more people if they knew what Radium Girls was in better detail.” Hinchcliffe also detailed that her favorite part of performing was, “hanging out with my friends before the show and getting to know the people around me a lot better. It was able to further my relationship and my friendships with many people.” Similarly, Lea Fortier-Drolet, who played Grace Fryer, remarks, “My favorite thing about doing a production is being in a close environment with my friends where we all share the ups and downs of putting a show on together. I think that doing a play like Radium Girls was a great opportunity for all of us to bring everything we have learned and put it to the test, I think we did good on having the correct emotion and playing characters that went through so much physically.”
Just one week later, these diligent performers prepare for auditions for the spring musical, Legally Blonde, to occur on Thursday, November 2, 2023, Friday, November 3, 2023, Wednesday, November 8, 2023, and Thursday, November 9, 2023.
