MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — The Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities will present its fall play, “Radium Girls,” Nov. 5-8, including a post-show talkback after the Nov. 6 performance, hosted by the school and the new Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Hub.
“Radium Girls” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, 6 and 7, and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 in the Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre on campus. Ticket information can be found at harrisburg.psu.edu/boxoffice.
The play, by D.W. Gregory, is set in 1926, when radium was a "miracle cure," Madame Curie was an international celebrity, and luminous watches were the latest rage — until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. The play is based on the true story of women and men who worked of the U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey.
The show offers a look at American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science.
After the Nov. 6 performance of the show, Penn State Harrisburg faculty members Shauntey James, assistant teaching professor of criminal justice, School of Public Affairs; Mariah Kupfner, assistant professor of American studies and public heritage, School of Humanities; and Emily MacLeod, assistant professor of English, School of Humanities, will participate in an interdisciplinary panel discussion of the play with director Jesse E. Goranson, as well as student cast member Megan Gallagher.
The group will discuss how the themes of the show, such as gender in the work force, labor rights, and technology in the workplace resonate throughout history, and they will take questions from the audience.
The talkback is the first event sponsored by the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Hub, which is a collaborative space for students, faculty and staff to share knowledge, foster research, and build community through interdisciplinary programming and public engagement.