Director's Note

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Yong women working to help their families and the war effort. They had to quit school. They followed instructions. Told the paint was safe, they ingested large quantities. They loved how it glowed! They would paint their faces and nails, put flecks in their hair, and wear fancy dresses so they would glow when they went to dances. They lived blissfully ignorant to the effects of the radium paint until they began to get sick.

When they became sick, the company for which they worked denied any wrong doing. They used "experts" to give the girls clean bills of heath and created false narratives to pain the girls in an unfavorable light.

As the women's case went to court, the company filed several postponements. The judge was said to be a major stockholder in the company. Public opinion sided with the poor women whose lives had been irreparably changed due to workplace hazards.

Men who worked in the company's labs had lead screens that had been installed, male researchers used protective gear while these young ladies continued to be exposed to the harmful radiation. 

In the end, it took the death of a male worker at the company for the executives to come to the table with an "equitable" settlement; helping to create new laws in regards to workplace safety.

It has been my pleasure to work with these students and to bring to life this beautiful piece of theatre.