Review: 'The Radium Girls: A Jaw-Dropping New Musical' UPDATED

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The Radium Girls: A Jaw-Dropping New Musical
Streaming Friday, Nov. 27th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, Dec. 6th at 2:00 PM

Danbury, CT - Last evening, the WCSU Department of Theatre Arts opened their New Works - New Voices a virtual production series with THE RADIUM GIRLS: A Jaw-Dropping New Musical, with music and book by Amanda D’Archangelis and lyrics and book by Sami Horneff and Lisa Mongillo. The usual number of shows was increased to five and are included in this virtual series, which features the work of marginalized communities and contemporary queer artist. Tim Howard somehow managed to direct this show and music direction was by Dr. Justin P. Cowan.

The series is dedicated to Richard Reimold 1935 - 2020.

The subtitle should have given me the idea that this female-driven production would be completely different from the play about the young women who painted watches with a radium paint to the detriment of the health of their jaws as well as the rest of their bodies. Inserting music to this story was a bold choice and then cheekily adding “jaw-dropping” to the musical’s title perfectly matches the dark comedy that is this new work. There is plenty of silliness that made me smile, with many a play on words and especially variations of Olive’s name.

“There’s something rotten in the state of New Jersey…”

Although the action is set in Newark, NJ, parts of this work reminded me of the musical URINETOWN in its tone. A Waterbury, CT clock factory is featured in Olive’s research and she even makes a call to Waterbury Hospital. I enjoyed the original and often cheeky songs in the two acts. Olive’s “wanna” song called “Start A Fire” was a good one and the first act closer “Jaw Dropping Girls” set in a speakeasy was a very good production number. “Glow” and its reprise was both ironic and fun, and the finale “Through the Dark” was well- placed. I loved the epilogue where we learned of the future paths of the characters who survived.

The theatre arts students were required to rehearse and film the performance 100% remotely, so the final product is the result of a ton of hard work.

The cast of WCSU students is a large one and a good number of them play more than one of the smaller roles. WCSU junior Alexis Reda (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC) leads the group in the role of Olive Witt, a young woman who finds employment for herself and two friends at US Radium Corp. Senior Michelle Shapiro (THE WILD PARTY) plays Francis O’Connell, the only sister of twelve brothers, and junior Bella D’Ottavio (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, SPELLING BEE) is Helen Munch; the two make the most of their fun roles.

Chloe Kramer plays Mercy Reed, the formidable worker in charge of the Radium Girls, and junior Dean Martin (NIGHT MUSIC) is a hoot as her son Rufus.

Kelsey Lepesko, now a WCSU senior who was part of THE WILD PARTY, NIGHT MUSIC,HAND TO GOD, stands out as the glamorous Maxine Smith. The other Radium Girls are played by senior Serena Kelly, junior Ariana Locascio (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC,) senior Francesca Saccomagnio (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC,) junior Teah Renzi (NIGHT MUSIC, SPELLING BEE, 2018 Jimmy Awards) of Newtown, senior Grace McGovern (THE WILD PARTY,) sophomore Alyssa McDonald (2018 Jimmy Award,) freshman Michelle D’Amico, and freshman Oliva Hendrickson.

Many of the male characters acted as literal “puppet masters” and this was done effectively. Junior Sam Rogers (NIGHT MUSIC, UNCLE VANYA) plays the evil foreman of the corp, Raymond Kelly. Tony Harkin covers the roles of a salesman, Mr. Sabin Von Schocky, a doctor and a security guard. Senior Ryan Rappaport (PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, EVITA) appears as Edwin Leman and a judge at the end of the second act. Nate Bloom plays a bouncer, Clarence B. Lee, and Olive’s father. I easily picked out senior Michael Ricciardone from Southington (NIGHT MUSIC) in the roles of Arthur Roeder, an announcer, a reporter and a security guard; he also served as assistant to the director. Senior Carter Smith (COMPANY, THE WILD PARTY, ARTURO UI) appeared as Pierre, a drifter, a robed man/priest, the Waterbury foreman and a photographer. Logan Farley covered the roles of a radio host, Billy Baxter, a DA, and a paper boy.

Senior Oksana Veres of Newington (NIGHT MUSIC, SPELLING BEE) opened the first act as Marie Curie in Paris in 1898, then played a jazz singer, the “Radium Girl of the Month,” and the mysterious “Lady in a Trenchcoat.” WAMS grad and WSCU junior Julia Rocchio from Naugatuck (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, STEEL PIER, MEMPHIS) appeared as a woman, a jazz singer, a secretary, and Frances’ dead mom. Freshman Katie Geniuch rounded out the cast as a product spokesperson, a jazz singer and a robed woman.

The technical aspects of the performance were pretty impressive. There was a wide variety of arrangements of the boxes that contained the actors; it was probably the most creative in the manner in which it matched the action that I have seen yet. However, on my desktop computer screen, the video was so blurry in full screen that I could not make out the faces of the actresses; I resorted to the smaller size in order to make it through the two acts more comfortably. There were no other indications that my connection speed was an issue, but this may have been the reason.

UPDATE: I've since learned from the very smart Eric Gomez, VPAC Events Coordinator at the School of Visual and Performing Arts at WCSU, that you can adjust the video quality on a YouTube livestream by using the Settings button at the bottom right of your screen. So heed this onscreen advice: Be sure to hit the Settings button to choose the best quality available.

The actors had to lip-synch their musical performances as best they could and some were better than others, but that did not prove bothersome for me. It was a pleasure to see that there was an attempt to include some actual dance numbers; while dancing feet could not be seen, the upper bodies did the job nicely.

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Below is an artist’s statement from the writing team behind The Radium Girls: A Jaw-Dropping Musical.

As an all female-identifying team of writers, we were both moved and mortified by the true stories of the bold and brave radium factory workers, so we set out to use humor to shine a light on a moment in history that until recently has been largely overlooked. Comedy has been used in the theatre for centuries to illuminate the horrors of our world, and our depiction of these events aims to do just that. After extensive, detailed research into the facts behind the watershed court case that – little known to many – played a large part in establishing the labor rights and regulations we have come to appreciate today, we set out to create a piece that would draw in a wide audience while effectively condemning the villains in the story and showcasing the bravery of the women who stood against them.

With our show, we seek to share the history of the real life Radium Girls with audiences everywhere so that their sacrifices will not be forgotten. And, while we aim to uphold their legacy for generations to come, we also challenge our audiences to draw parallels to the inequity working women+ still face today at the hands of the patriarchy. We have nothing but respect and compassion for the injustices these young, innocent women were forced to suffer, all without their consent. And it is our hope that everyone who sees our show will use it as a mirror to more clearly reflect upon similar patterns that persist in their daily lives. Most of all, we yearn for our show to be a rallying cry, begging its viewers to do just what the Radium Girls did in 1928: take concrete steps towards ending the exploitation of women+ and oppressed peoples everywhere. Women+, particularly Black, Brown, and trans women, face tremendous challenges and are too often subject to abuse and violence. Although we strove to tackle one small instance of the damaging inequity that women+ face across the globe, there is much work still to be done and many stories still to tell.
Amanda D’Archangelis, Sami Horneff, Lisa Mongillo

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the CCC Facebook page.