[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]BYU audiences will have the opportunity to see the story of the Radium Girls come to life in the Margetts Theatre
The BYU theatre department presents “Radium Girls,” a story of tragedy, change and hope pulled from the pages of American history.
The play follows Grace Fryer, one of many women who fell ill while working as luminous watch dial painters in a 1920s radium factory. The extent of the adverse effects of radium were initially unknown, and the women were kept in the dark about the potential hazard. As the factory workers, later dubbed the Radium Girls, began to develop symptoms—some even succumbing to their illness—scientific interest and public sympathy grew.
The true, but largely forgotten, events of the tragedy and subsequent efforts by Fryer to seek legal action will be brought to life in the BYU Margetts Theatre by nine actors covering 38 roles.
“It’s a nice challenge for the actors and for me in staging all of these different scenarios in one very simple space without a lot of props or furniture,” said director Stephanie Breinholt. “The actors change costumes in the blink of an eye, or even one moment they’re one character, and then they turn and they’re another character.”
“They’ve been working hard to be informed, to do the research, to be proficient in all the dialects,” Breinholt said of the cast. “The radium was affecting these girls in different ways, so we’ve studied physicality as well. This piece is highly dramatic and emotional at times and requires big and risky choices in characterization, but the cast has been so generous in their support of each other. They’re putting it out there because they want to be as authentic as they can.”
Rehearsals have been difficult during particularly bleak scenes, but Breinholt has worked to find light in the darkness. “If you realize how much these girls had to live for, then you realize how devastating it was,” said Pollyanna Eyler, the show’s dramaturg. “And yet, there’s a lot of humor in the show, despite the heavy subject matter. I think Stephanie Breinholt is a brilliant director, and she has helped the actors discover those moments of levity.”
Though the play is set in the 1920s, it carries timely messages for modern audiences—both somber and hopeful. “I think this play really applies to our current social climate,” said Breinholt. “It’s interesting to think about what we have in our lives that might be described as toxic in months or years—not only the things we hold, but the things we think and say and do. We need to think about how can we change our behaviors when we make new discoveries about what is best for each other and humankind.”
“This show isn’t just about the past,” added Eyler. “We looked for hope in a production which could be very weighty and very sad. You can’t have light if you don’t have shadow. Today we find hope in scientific research and public sympathy, which is exactly how they went about prosecuting the U.S. Radium Corporation in the play.”
One of the themes that emerged for Eyler as she researched the real-life Radium Girls was the importance of an attitude of forgiveness and empathy, a message that was enhanced for the cast and crew by one of Eyler’s immersive dramaturgy exercises.
“At the beginning of the rehearsal process, our dramaturg created a relative finder group in FamilySearch for our cast, crew and the people the characters are based off of,” said Mikah Vaclaw, who plays the show’s protagonist. “I found out that I’m related to Grace Fryer, the character I’m playing. We’re not only telling a pertinent story—we’re telling our ancestors’ stories. I strongly feel that these people will be with us as we try to tell their story with empathy and hope.”
“About half the cast is related to about half the characters in the show, both the good people and the bad,” said Eyler. “But even the ‘bad’ people, they’re not villains. They’re just real people with real intentions of trying to do what they think is appropriate in the situation. But if they had known they were related to each other, would they have treated them in the same way? ”
“I love that the cast is finding positives in every character,” said Breinholt. “You could go in with quite a bit of bias, especially against the characters that represent the Radium Corporation, but they’re finding the humanity in every character. It’s not just a cut and dry story. Everyone has good qualities, but they make some glaring mistakes.”
“I pray that audiences can walk away with a determination to make the most out of their interactions and connections with their brothers and sisters in the world,” said Dylan Wright, who plays Arthur Roeder, the plant manager of the U.S. Radium Corporation who goes head-to-head with Fryer. “To me, that’s what this story truly is about: honest and beautiful human connection and the consequences of letting other things get in the way of this raw connection. We can be more compassionate, service-oriented and empathetic people.”
“I hope that people connect to this story, not just as an incident in history, but as something that relates directly to our lives,” said Eyler. “Are we a people of integrity? If we don’t speak up for the underdog, who will? Your voice will make a difference.”
Tickets and Show Details
Performance Dates and Times: Nov. 16-17, 28-30, Dec. 1, 4-8 | 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 17, Dec 1 | 2 p.m.
Location: Margetts Theatre, Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Price: $12-16
Tickets: Available in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the HFAC or Marriott Center, by phone at 801.422.2981 or online at byuarts.com
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