Wantagh High set to premiere ‘Radium Girls’
You don’t have buy tickets to a Broadway play to see some quality, passion-driven theater. Wantagh High School’s production of “Radium Girls” is scheduled to premiere on Nov. 18.
Both Wantagh and Seaford high schools’ theater programs emerged unscathed from the Covid-19 pandemic, and both returned triumphant in the 2021-22 school year in some capacity. Wantagh returned with a masked performance of the drama “The Outsiders” in the fall, and a performance of the musical “Crazy for You” in the spring, while Seaford returned with the musical “The Addams Family” last spring.
Now, Wantagh High School will be performing its first unmasked non-musical play in three years. “Radium Girls” is set to premiere on Nov. 18, and will run all weekend until Nov. 20.
Inspired by a true story, “Radium Girls” is set in the 1920s and tells the tale of Grace Fryer, a woman who works as a dial painter, fighting for her day in court as the women she works with begin to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Arthur Roeder, the women’s boss, desperately tries to stop her efforts. The women apparently contracted radiation poisoning from self-luminous paint, which was referred to as “radium painting.”
The radium was previously thought to be medicinal, since radiation therapy is still used to treat tumors. But it brings its own dangers with it as well.
“The paint glow-ed in the dark,” Kimberly Davis, a Wantagh High English teacher and the show’s director, said. “And before they knew about the poisoning, they thought radium was a miracle cure because it actually shrunk the size of tumors. But then they started developing these strange illnesses.”
Davis, who holds a doctorate degree in education, added that the play shows how the company desperately tries to escape responsibility for the women’s illnesses.
Despite it being a period drama, Davis said she feels that it has themes which are applicable to present-day issues.
“It’s a question of who’s protecting us,” Davis said. “Who do we trust? Do we trust science? Do we trust corporations? Whose responsibility is it to take care of people? It is also about justice for these girls who died horribly at the hands of their employers, who did nothing about it.”
Davis’s two leads are looking forward to the premiere of “Radium Girls.”
Anthony Lerro, a junior at Wantagh High School, plays Arthur Roeder, the primary antagonist in the play. Roeder is the women’s boss, and therefore directly responsible for their long term exposure to the radium. Roeder also attempts to stop the women from having their day in court, going as far as to doctor reports about radium’s dangers.
“He’s supposed to be disliked,” Lerro said. “And he does terrible things. But he also tries to remain moral in an immoral environment, which breaks him down and causes him to make all the wrong choices.”
Lerro added that in order to relate to such a despicable character like Roeder, he had to find the good in him to give a believable and relatable performance.
“I try to latch on to the fact that he is a family man on the other side of it,” Lerro said. “And that’s what should connect him with the audience and keep him somewhat human.”
Lerro still has some time to figure out what he wants to study in college. While he most likely does not want to pursue theatre, he will likely continue with it as a hobby.
Trinity Bokelmann, a senior, plays Grace Fryer, the play’s protagonist. Fryer goes through a series of transitions in the show as the truth about radium slowly comes out, and eventually leads the charge in getting the workers a measure of justice.
“She starts out believing in the science very strongly,” Bokelmann said. “Without spoiling much, as time passes, she begins questioning the science and eventually becomes outspoken about the issues.”
Bokelmann added that her character starts out very obedient to authority, but as the science behind radium changes, Fryer begins to change as well.
“She is a very dynamic character,” Bokelmann said. “Sometimes she’s funny, sometimes she’s serious. She comes across as innocent and naïve, but she’s not. She’s also quite independent for women of her time.”
Bokelmann said she does not know where she is going to attend college yet, but wants to study theater wherever she goes.
“Whenever I take on any kind of role, I always try to keep myself a part of it,” she said. “Grace Fryer could not be more opposite to me on paper, but I look for the kind of things that I can relate to and it helps — it become a much more natural performance.”
All the cast members said they are looking forward to the premiere on Nov. 18.
“We really have incredible talent here,” Davis said. “These kids are working really hard. They’re super dedicated. And I’m excited for them to get this opportunity to really show off their skill in a challenging play.”
