Firehouse Theater Company presents a stellar production of Melani Marnich’s play about wronged workers

Firehouse Theater Company’s production of These Shining Lives, currently captivating audiences at the John Hand Theater, is a powerful 90-minute ride. It’s based on a true story that delves into a pivotal event of the early 20th century that profoundly impacts how we view workers’ rights today.

Playwright Melanie Marnich’s description of These Shining Lives as a work of creative nonfiction doesn’t diminish its emotional impact on the audience. It is a solid play that captures its significance on multiple levels. With exceptional direction by Kate Poling and a remarkable cast, this play delivers a gut punch that is both tragic and inspirational, leaving a lasting impression.

Catherine (Rachel Barkalow) is newly married to Tom (Joey Torrison) and is eager to find temporary employment to help financially during their early years of marriage. When the opportunity to work at the Radium Dial Company presents itself, Catherine jumps at the chance. She will paint watch dials with a compound that glows, and she will be paid a hefty 8 cents per dial.

Hired by Mr. Reed (Matt Hindmarch), Catherine is set up to work alongside three unique personalities, including Charlotte (Babs Karney), Frances (Gabby Mann) and Pearl (Shyan Rivera). The routine was supposed to be simple and safe. Being told the glowing radium compound was harmless, the women ingested vast amounts of it when they used their lips to achieve a fine point on the brush to paint the tiny numbers on the watch dials.

As they became increasingly ill from ingesting the poisonous radium, the woman could not initially find a doctor to support their notion that their job was making them sick. Standing firm, the company refused to acknowledge that a significant problem was happening before them.

Although the women suffered from many disfiguring symptoms, including cancer, it wasn’t until they found a doctor willing to diagnose them with radium poisoning that they took their fight to the halls of justice and sued their company for making them sick. It was a long, drawn-out process, but the fight ultimately changed workplace laws and shed light on the seriousness of radiation exposure.

Rachel Barkalow and Matt Hindmarch in ‘These Shining Lives’ at Firehouse Theater | Photo: Soular Radiant Photography

Smoldering performance

In an engaging and appealing portrayal of Catherine, Barkalow gives a perfect performance that frames the entire piece. The script’s crafting immediately draws the audience to her, given her simple request to assist with family finances. Barkalow has a smoldering strength about her that carries her from the innocent opening to the catastrophic ending.

The other women, Karney, Martin, and Rivera, establish a beautiful ensemble while maintaining individual characters who tug at our heartstrings. Karney is especially effective as wise-cracking Charlotte, immediately causing friction among the women when they need cohesiveness.

In the roles of Tom and Mr. Reed, actors Torrison, and Hindmarch effectively provide another playing level presented in the script, verbalizing that the women may be imagining their illness and its impact on their daily lives. It’s a strong argument that effectively carries forward the storyline.

Directed full throttle by director Kate Poling, the 90-minute play is wonderfully conceived, with a succinct and subjective tone, to support the women in their crusade for what’s right. Poling has highlighted the women’s relationship, offering a distinct flavor of camaraderie as they fight for their lives. She has also not ignored the relationship between Tom and Catherine, allowing for a realistic marital bond to exist. Poling is a force to be reckoned with in her directorial debut at Firehouse.

Although heartbreaking in tone, the play is also inspiring, and the strength of Catherine, Charlotte, Frances, and Pearl, eventually known as the Radium Girls, is palpable. Playing through June 8, These Shining Moments will leave you simultaneously saddened and uplifted, with a stirring theatrical piece in a growing line of standout productions from Firehouse.