By KATIE CHOI, SOPHIE LIU and PATTY YAN
Jericho High School’s Theater Production Organization and Thespian Honor Society performed the play Radium Girls, a historical fiction play based on a true story.
The plot follows dying painter Grace Fryer, played by senior Natalia P., who puts up a fight for social justice after watching her friends succumb to the U.S. Radium Corporation’s poisoning of their workers.
Assistant Director Ms. Bacotti thinks the script does a great job of conveying emotions and the pathos of the incident. She said, “I think that the focus was a combination on corporate greed and on humanity and what makes us human and what we are willing to sacrifice to look out for those around us.”
Director Ms. Rinaudo said that she chose Radium Girls because she wanted to challenge the students. “I loved the story of how the radium girls tried to fight against the big corporation to protect their health,” she said.
According to Ms. Rinaudo, plays at Jericho were a new experience for many of the Radium Girls performers. Additionally, most of the students who had previously performed in Jericho had only done lighthearted plays such as slapstick comedies and murder mysteries. The intensity and the dark storyline of the play provided many challenges. Ms. Rinaudo said, “These characters that the cast has to portray are dying or angry, so I think that was hard for them. They had to really draw from inside to show their talents and skills.”
Sophomore Isabel C., who played Grace’s mother, agreed. “Scenes were really intense, but really wonderful,” she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic also proved to be a huge challenge for the production of Radium Girls, the first play that Jericho has put on in over a year. Senior Natalia P. wishes that they could have done it as if they weren’t in a pandemic and she believes that it was so much easier to act without COVID restriction.
The necessity of masks during the performance led to several challenges. Ms. Bacotti said, “The performers worked to show their facial expressions through the top half of their faces, through their eyes.”
Sophomore Isabel C. said, “I am more of a screen actor. Most of my movements are not wide and theatrical-moving but also use facial expressions, so it would have been better if we did not have a mask.”
According to a sound and lighting crew member sophomore Quinn K., the masks got in the way of normal microphone positioning. They said, “Due to masks, actors wore microphones on their foreheads instead of the usual positioning around the ear.”
However, the masks proved to be an effective prop to convey the developments in the plot. “Radium girls and factory workers would start out with white masks, and as people became evil, they would wear black masks, and as the radium girls became sick, they would wear green masks, and as they died we would add blood to them,” said Ms. Bacotti.
Post-pandemic production was also challenging because the cast and crew were not able to practice their skills during the pandemic. The scene changes in Radium Girls were particularly difficult, so the team had to work very hard on tightening them.
Despite all the challenges in its production, Radium Girls was well received by the audience. Freshman Michael J. said, “I’d say the play was written pretty well, and the acting was absolutely phenomenal.”
Members of the production team were happy with the performance. Ms. Rinaudo said, “The story was very well told, and the students did an amazing job portraying the characters.”
Ms. Bacotti also had great reviews about the show and said that she loved how Radium Girls came out and was so proud of the entire cast and crew.
Cast and crew members made great memories throughout the production of the performance. “I made new friends, and it’s a fun experience despite that hard work,” Quinn K. said.
Regardless of all the challenges they faced, the cast and crew of Radium Girls agreed that their experiences were worthwhile and rewarding. Natalia P. said, “It always feels really good when you see the audience. It’s gratifying.”
