Whitewater High School Players – “Radium Girls”

The Whitewater High School Players will be performing “Radium Girls” Feb. 26-28 at 7 p.m. and Mar. 1 at 2 p.m. in the James M. Stewart Auditorium at WHS.

“Radium Girls” is based on a true and tragic story that defined American labor history in the 1920’s. The Radium Girls were factory workers who painted dials with radium-based paint and mysteriously started dying. The “ghost girls” were instructed to finely point their brushes by molding the bristles with their mouths, but this process ultimately poisoned the laborers themselves. As doctors began to discover radium’s devastating harm, five women in New Jersey sued their employers but reached a settlement outside the court in 1928. Both topics of workplace hazards and corporate accountability are explored throughout the play. The legacy of the Radium Girls can’t be understated — even today. Their case was among the first in which a company was held responsible for the health and safety of its employees, and it led to a variety of reforms and to the creation of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

General admission tickets ($12 for adults, $7 for students) are available beginning one hour before the performances.

Under the direction of Jim McCulloch, the cast includes Ian Agen, Camdyn Avila, Isabella Cohen, Peyton Comfort, Esteban Diaz-Gallegos, Joseph Falcon-Kienbaum, Aurora Gerblick, Vivian Harris, Ameera Lin, Sam Nickelsburg, Sophia Noonan, Kia Peterson, and Lia Ramirez. Josie Davis and Jesus Ramirez support the production in their important role as stage manager.

Kat Dunham guides the backstage crew that includes Caitlin Alford, Sidney Block, Georgia Esch, Ace Hudec, Hadley Huebner, Joshua Nygren, and Jesus Ramirez.

For additional information about the history of Radium Girls, go to https://www.britannica.com/story/radium-girls-the-women-who-fought-for-their-lives-in-a-killer-workplace