Mary Baldwin University continues the 2014–15 arts season with the These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich. The play is directed by Virginia Francisco, former chair of the Mary Baldwin theatre department, and produced by Terry Southerington, professor of theatre. It runs November 19–23, 2014. Performances Wednesday through Saturday are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Fletcher Collins Theatre, Deming Hall.
Set in the 1920s and 30s outside Chicago, These Shining Lives explores a time when women were first permitted to hold well-paying factory jobs, and it reminds audiences of the limitations on women’s rights and the severe consequences of workplace hazards that were disregarded at the time. The play follows four women who are among the first in the nation to hold factory jobs at the Radium Dial Company, where women are paid to paint numbers on iridescent watch faces, though the paint they use contains radium. As radium poisoning sets in and their bodies begin to succumb, the sickest of them finds a lawyer who will take their case.
The women are played by Tiffany Waters, Sara Beth Watkins, Bridget Burner, and Toni Thinnes. James Cramer plays the attorney, and William Campbell completes the cast as Catherine’s husband, Tom Donohue. Actors also play additional roles.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $7 for students of any school and senior citizens. They may be bought with a credit card at 540-887-7189, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at go.marybaldwin.edu/theatre. Patron parking is available in the college parking lot at the intersection of Kable Street and Deming Drive (off of Prospect Street). For the convenience of patrons, shuttle service is available from the parking lot to the entrance of the theatre, less than a block away. Please call in advance to reserve the shuttle.
For further information, contact Professor of Theatre Terry Southerington at 540-887-7192.