![]() ![]() The writer notes that 'all may exist minimally, perhaps more as a state of mind and imagination'. However, other shorter scenes take place in Doctor's rooms, the Courtroom and on the shores of Lake Michigan. The majority of settings take place between the Donohue's home and the Radium Dial workroom. Radio Announcer - Advertises for radium and Westclox. He manipulates Catherine and the other women into doubting their concerns for their own health.ĭaughter - Daughter of Catherine and Tom. Leonard Grossman - The attorney who agrees to take the case to court.Ĭompany Doctor - Makes a brief appearance as the first doctor to evaluate the women. Fiercely protective of his wife.ĭr Rowntree - Makes a brief appearance promoting the perceived value of 'Radium'.ĭr Dalitsch - Doctor in Chicago who diagnoses radium poisoning. Feels emasculated when Catherine first gets the job, but warms up quickly to it. Although she is sharp when she first meets Catherine, they soon become good friends.įrances O'Connell - Viewed as having the moral backbone of the four women, which could suggest she is a little older. The actor is required to switch between her character in the part of the narrator and her character in the story as she succumbs to radium poisoning.Ĭharlotte Purcell - Straight talking and tough. Female leads Ĭatherine Donohue - The main protagonist. A full character list, as per the script, is provided below. The four women of the story are pitched as being in their mid-late twenties. The play is written for a minimum of six actors, with the play suggesting actors can 'double-up' on two or more roles. The playwright notes that although the play is at times a docudrama, it should also be delivered with 'spirit, energy and verve' and at no time should the women be played 'as victims in any way'. The story parallels a similar tragedy known as the Radium Girls.Īs noted, the play is a period piece commencing in 1922 when the Radium Dial Company opened a factory in Ottawa, Illinois and closes around 1938, when the main protagonist, Catherine Donohue dies from her illness. The play premiered in 2008 at the Head Theater at Centerstage in Baltimore, Maryland under the direction of David Schweizer, artistic director, Irene Lewis and managing director, Michael Ross. The real Catherine Donohue died on July 27, 1938, shortly after testifying before the Illinois Industrial Commission. ![]() In the final scene, she poignantly narrates that prior to her death, she won her case seven times against the Radium Dial Company, the final time on appeal by Radium Dial to the US Supreme Court. ![]() Grossman, agrees to take the case for free, with Donohue as the lead plaintiff.Īt the denouement of the play, Catherine succumbs to the effects of radium poisoning. This in turn helps the four main characters decide to file a lawsuit against Radium Dial. In the end, they have to travel to the city (Chicago) to find a doctor who is willing to put his name on the line and diagnose the women with radium poisoning. Several local doctors, including the company doctor, overlook the women's concerns and prescribe aspirin, which of course does not help. The ladies then develop ailments, including jaw infections and bone pain. After a period of time, the workers notice that their hands start glowing in the dark, but assume that it is just from the radium powder that is used to paint the faces. Radium Dial, the company that hires the women to do the painting, tells them that there is no evidence that radium is harmful, and even that it has health benefits. The job, which seems easy enough to the four main characters, is painting the hour markings onto different sized watch dials using a radium compound which glows in the dark. Narrated by one of the workers, Catherine Donohue, These Shining Lives shows women getting a chance for a well-paying job in the 1920s and early 1930s, which was uncharacteristic for the time in the United States. The play showcases the danger women faced in this workplace and highlights the wider lack of concern companies had for protecting the health of their employees. It is based on the true story of four women who worked for the Radium Dial Company - a watch factory based in Ottawa, Illinois. These Shining Lives is a play written by Melanie Marnich. Various doctors, lawyer, judge, son, daughter, reporters, radio announcer and crowd scenesĬatherine Donohue, Charlotte Purcell, Francis O'Connell, Pearl Payne, Tom Donohue, Mr. ![]()
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