During a dress rehearsal, student actors Emily Systma, Meghan Fitzpatrick and Paula Hopkins prepare for the “Radium Girls” performance on Feb. 21. Photo courtesy of Zach Rosing. 

ELLE ROTTER | STAFF REPORTER | earotter@butler.edu 

Wednesday, Feb. 21, Butler Theatre put on a 70-minute, one-night performance of the play “Radium Girls” based on true events from the 1920s. 

Grace, portrayed by senior theatre major Emily Sytsma; Kathryn, played by senior arts administration major Meghan Fitzpatrick; and Irene, depicted by first-year theatre major Paula Hopkins are all women who work at the U.S. Radium Corporation plant in the 1920s. However, after years of working in the factory, the women start noticing a variety of ailments that they and their coworkers are experiencing due to radium poisoning. Grace’s job as a dial painter — painting numbers on watch faces using radium — is highly sought after because they were told the chemical had healing properties. In reality, it was killing dozens of women. The play trails the rest of Grace’s life as she fights her way to court, seeking progress in workplace rights. 

Assistant psychology professor Karina Hamamouche said she believes this is an important historical event that many people are not familiar with. 

“Seeing the interdisciplinary nature of the effect of this incident is a really good thing for people to be aware of,” Hamamouche said. “I hope it will open people’s eyes to seeing some of those connections between the things that they’re studying or core curriculum classes that they’re taking. It’s also important for us to know a little bit more about our history in the U.S.. This is a story that I was not personally familiar with until I started [hearing about the play].” 

First-year education major Donnie Bryant went to see the show because he was involved in theatre in high school and wanted to see a Butler Theatre production. 

“Everything was new to me because I wasn’t familiar with the events of the story,” Bryant said. “The people running the factory, they were just trying to cover it all up. Money took precedence over the lives of these women. I guess I see a lot of parallels to how a lot of [modern] companies operate.” 

Sophomore biochemistry major Paige Horsley said she thought this play was important for women and STEM majors because as a scientist, it makes her feel more educated, and as a woman, it is important to know this part of history. 

“Not only is this just a play, but this is something that happened to real people in real life,”  Horsley said. “They got this radium poisoning, and they had to literally fight on their deathbeds to get justice. Knowing that story now makes me feel more educated and more well-rounded.” 

The play is written to have about a dozen actors play over 30 parts. Some actors, like Sytsma, only had one part because they had bigger, more consuming roles. Meanwhile, others had two to three roles to play. 

Hamamouche emphasized what this says about the actors themselves. 

“It’s really hard to even get into character for a single [role],” Hamamouche said. “To be playing multiple characters in the same 70-minute play definitely shows that these students are incredibly skilled at what they’re doing. There is a lot to cover, and they did a really nice job doing that and [provided] a ton of details. Letting the audience see some of those quick changes and transformations between characters gives the audience a different perspective on the play as well.” 

Senior arts administration major Meghan Fitzpatrick portrayed Kathryn in the play. She was excited to be cast in this production because after reading the script, she discovered how important the “Radium Girls” message is. 

“It’s just such a powerful story,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s really empowering for a lot of young women to know that we can make a difference in the world, and we just need our voices to be heard. It was a really special piece to perform and empowered me as a person to just know that we’re telling this story. We are [teaching people] that just because we are young doesn’t mean we should be ignored. We should have our voices heard.” 

Butler Theatre only has a few Mainstage productions every semester. To support fellow Butler students, visit Butler Arts and Events Center to get tickets for the next show: “Hedgehog in the Fog” from April 17 to 21.