A GLOWING PERFORMANCE
This story was originally published in the May 10, 2025 Issue.
Before people feared radiation, they deemed it a miracle. It glowed. It cured. It made your watch shine in the dark. But in Radium Girls, the glittering promise of science turns fatal, and a group of teenage factory workers are left to pay the price.
This production, brought to the stage by Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre and Mammoth Lakes High School (MHS) Drama Club, follows the real-life story of Grace Fryer (Jovie Plum), a young woman who risks everything to hold her former employer accountable after discovering the glowing paint she worked with was slowly killing her and her friends.
In her quest for justice, the audience watches the young, hopeful girl’s dreams of a traditional life — marriage, a home, children, and close friendships — slowly slip away.
Adapted by D.W. Gregory from Kate Moore’s bestselling book, Radium Girls looks at how profit and science can collide to devastating effect. The young cast chose the script themselves, and it was directed and produced by Juliana Olinka Jones with production assistance from Shira Dubrovner.
The play opens with Grace’s short, sinister testimony in the spotlight.
“It wasn’t like factory work, really. It was more like art, painting those dials. We were artists,” she recounts.
It’s a chilling introduction, made more potent by Plum’s experience on the stage. A local theater veteran since age four, she brings a steady hand to the lead role.
The light on Grace fades, and another spotlight forms on the other side of the stage to expose antagonist Arthur Roeder (Stella D. Vanderhurst), who gives his ominous testimony.
“We all knew about it. We just didn’t realize what it meant,” Roeder’s testimony concludes before the lights dim.
Vanderhurst, president of the MHS Drama Club, easily commands the stage. What’s most impressive, though, is the nuance she brings to the character, revealing not just a villain but a man slowly unraveling under the weight of his choices.
The stage lights illuminate again to reveal Grace’s coworkers, Irene Rudolph (Addi Glass) and Kathryn Schaub (Whitney Orozco), who are indulging in the regular stakes of teenage girlhood as they work: gossiping and fawning over boys.
The girls are amused at the paint’s glow-in-the-dark powers, and soon after Grace enters to join them, they begin drawing shapes onto her face and teeth to prank their supervisor, Mrs. Alma Maclain (Emma Chavez), during the inspection.
With a cast of just 14 students, many actors step into multiple roles. Notably, Glass and Orozco manage this seamlessly, bringing distinct energy to each part without ever distracting from the story.
What’s striking is how closely these actors resemble the real girls they portray. Many Radium Girls were just 15 to 17 years old when they began working in the factory — just like the students on stage.
The first act moves fast… perhaps too fast. Lines occasionally blur in a rush of nerves or adrenaline, and some dialogue slips by before it can fully land.
But by Act Two, the cast finds its footing. The pacing smooths out, and the story’s emotional weight settles in.
Without giving too much away, the narrative covers a broad stretch of time, leaping between years and shifting settings—from factory floors to family homes, business offices, courtrooms, and even a graveyard.
A large, glowing clock towers behind most scenes, a haunting centerpiece. The set is minimal and moody, allowing for seamless transitions and visual clarity.
Director Juliana Olinka Jones uses the entire space, sending actors into the aisles, emerging from the audience, or delivering lines from the staircase, blurring the line between performer and spectator, past and present.
To see Radium Girls, buy tickets online for $15 or at the door of Mammoth High School’s theatre (365 Sierra Park Road) for $18. The show runs May 12–14, with 7 p.m. performances.
