A tale of industry, illness, and struggle is coming to OFHS. The fall play for the 2015-2016 school year has been announced to be Radium Girls, by D.W Gregory. According to the OFHS Drama webpage, the play centers on Grace Freyer, a dial painter who seeks justice and “fights for her day in court” after the titular ‘radium girls’ (women who worked with the radioactive element radium in industrial facilities) fall ill with a mysterious illness.
Auditions took place on September 17th and 18th, and the cast list has been posted near the Chorus room. Gage Loverne, 12th grade, who plays President of U.S. Radium Corp and male lead Arthur Roeder, looks forward to his role. “I’m excited,” Gage said. “[Arthur Roeder] is an interesting character, because even though he’s evil, there’s still some light in him, and he does feel bad for what he did to the girls.” Gage also said he likes the concept of the play, because “it tells a real-life story,” and Gage feels that this means the audience “should be able to feel the story more.”
Jenna Cavaliere, 12th grade, is also eager to begin the play. Jenna, who plays Arthur Roeder’s wife Diane, is excited because Diane Roeder was the part she originally tried out for. Jenna says she likes the choice of Radium Girls for the fall production, saying “It’s different from any other play we’ve done.” Jenna described her character as “concerned for her husband, because he’s been getting stressed out” by the events of the play.
The play is scheduled to premiere on November 5th, with additional shows on November 7th and 9th. For more information on this year’s fall play, see Mr. Pace in the auditorium.