On May 2, Thunder River Theatre Company (TRTC) will premiere its final mainstage production of the 2024-2025 season: Melanie Marnich’s “These Shining Lives.” The play is based on a true story of four women who worked for the Radium Dial Company in Illinois in the 1920s, and subsequently faced dire challenges due to radium poisoning. This play details their journey of seeking justice, keeping hope alive and showing the nation how workers — particularly working women — are not expendable.
“One thing I thought Melanie Marnich did so brilliantly was capture the series of unfortunate events surrounding the radium poisoning,” Missy Moore, the show’s director, told The Sopris Sun. “But she never wrote these women to be victims, and the fact they fought until their dying day is why I was drawn to the story.”
Moore, also the artistic director at TRTC, has tried to highlight a female-centric production each season. While this story includes various male characters, portrayed by Jack Trembath (Tom Donohue) and Gerald DeLisser (Rufus Reed) and other local actors, the story remains centered on the lives of the main characters who are all women.
“I’m amazed at how so many people are not aware this actually happened,” Moore said of the relevant history of the production. “Theater has a responsibility to not only highlight the human experience and condition, but it can be a tool that educates and highlights moments in history, too.”
The four main actors in the production include: Emily Henley (Catherine Donohue), Sophia Higbie (Frances O’Connell), Sonya Meyer (Charlotte Purcell) and Julia Whalen (Pearl Payne).
“It’s quite a timeless piece. Although set in a specific time [concerning] a specific company, I believe that things like this carry on to today in different ways,” said Higbie. “Telling the story may shed light on current events and what’s going on in different places.”
“The show is able to go in depth with a subject that could just be sad, [yet] comedy is also present in this,” Higbie continued. “Life is not black and white, and it’s a beautiful piece in that way.”
The cast agreed that what drew them to this production was the poetic nature of the play and the indomitable fight the central characters hold.
“I feel like I have a tiramisu layered cake of challenges in this show, which are intimidating but offer an invigorating challenge,” explained Henley. “Being able to tell a historical piece that is incredibly poignant today, and incredibly feminist, and being the vessel of sharing that piece of history is incredibly powerful.”
DeLisser explained how audiences may recognize similarities between the events of the 1920s and those of the 2020s. He added that a story like this is important to tell, as it adds a layer of humanity to historical figures.
“I think for those who haven’t heard the story before it’s an interesting and entertaining way to consume [it],” stated DeLisser. “It’s humanizing and brings to life these people that really existed and what they had to go through.”
Another addition to this production is its assistant director, Travis Dean Wilson — a regular TRTC actor who is actively expanding his theatrical roles, on and off stage. He shared how working on this production has been impactful as he navigates alongside Moore to properly tell the stories of these women.
“It hearkens back to that saying [that] we need to remember, honor and showcase history, otherwise we are doomed to repeat it,” said Wilson.
In a nutshell
What: “These Shining Lives”
Where: Thunder River Theatre Company
When: May 2 to 18, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm
Tickets: www.thunderrivertheatre.com