‘Radium Girls’ to premiere at Heatilator Auditorium

MT. PLEASANT - The Mt. Pleasant High School Drama Department is putting on the play “Radium Girls” Friday through Sunday, Nov. 7-9, at the town’s Civic Center.

On Friday and Saturday, performances start at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the show begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate, and cost $10.

In this play, young actors give their all to portray a chilling story of industrial negligence. A world where justice is so often delayed, where people’s fight for truth and justice clashes with the pursuit of profit. Young workers are stricken with a disease they cannot comprehend. U.S. Radium, only slightly more knowledgeable, does its level best to deny the effects and delay the trial.

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Sarai Sanchez plays Grace Fryer, the female lead.

“A lot of people, especially in my cast, have said I am a Grace Fryer. We have the same amount of siblings. I’d describe her as a very calm person, and collected, very much a Goody-two-shoes. She has a range of emotions, and I really connect with that. She can be calm, but if something precious to her is being harmed, she’ll fight for it.”

For Tray Schuster, this is his first dramatic role.

“I usually get cast as male-lead, goofball types,” he said, “Very different from my character this year.”

A recent transfer from New London, he has some theater background, having played mostly in comedies and musicals. This week, he takes the role of Mr. Arthur Roeder, head of U.S. Radium, the play’s antagonist.

“Mr. Roeder is entrepreneurial, very business oriented,” Schuster said. “At the very end of the play, you can see him crumble. He’s a very strong-willed man at the beginning… At the end, he’s broken, he’s battered, he feels incredibly bad. Mr. Roeder is definitely different from any character I’ve ever done.”

Both Sanchez and Schuster plan to continue performing after graduating. Sanchez hopes to attend Brigham Young University, either in Idaho or Utah, and major in political science. Shuster wishes to join the U.S. Army band, becoming a band teacher upon his return. Their time in drama, as well as their experiences in public speaking, inform these decisions.

Ally Lowe, who directs the play, is a Mt. Pleasant graduate. Now in charge of the very drama department she played in as a student, she has complete confidence in her cast.

“We did a couple comedies last year,” she said. “This is definitely a vibe shift from that. It’s a powerful story to tell, and I’m really excited to see the kids get those deeper emotions on stage. Everybody’s flowing really well together, taking it seriously, challenging each other, working hard. The talent amazes me every year. These kids are so talented, and I want the community to see that.”

Call Marilyn Higgins at 319-368-8895 or email her at marilyn.higgins@southeastiowaunion.com