Butler Little Theatre portrays tragedy, triumph in ‘These Shining Lives’
In the late 1920s, the Radium Dial Co. of Ottawa, Ill., hired women to paint watch faces with radioactive material.
The women were encouraged to lick the tips of their glowing brushes to get the fine point needed for the delicate work. As a result, they suffered disfiguring illnesses and fatal cancers. They fought back and, against all odds, won a court victory. This week, Butler Little Theatre brings “These Shining Lives,” depicting their tragic but inspiring story, to the BLT stage.
The show’s structure is unusual: 20 scenes that move quickly from apartments to workplaces to Lake Michigan to a courtroom. First-time director Sarah Altomari deftly handles this challenge by using separate areas of the stage, including a small riser, to delineate scene changes. Altomari handles the pacing of the show admirably, drawing the story through at a steady pace to its inevitable end.
The actors have to tread the fine line between telling the horrifying story but not allowing their characters to slide into victimhood, even as their bodies deteriorate. The play follows the lives of four women over six years as the job that once brought them joy destroys them physically and emotionally.
Catherine (played by Deanna Sparrow), the lead, depicts the women’s determination and bravery through both her words and physical movements. She repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, providing exposition that not only allows for a compact script but also gives the audience a glimpse into Catherine’s inner life.
Charlotte, played by Emily Sutton, is the gruff, tough-talking star worker as the show opens, painting 200 watches a day. Soon there’s a friendly competition between Charlotte and Catherine as the new girl becomes skilled and makes $8 a day (about $150 in today’s dollars), and, eventually, a friendship blossoms between the two.
Kira Lavrich plays Pearl with a youthful exuberance embodying a young woman still addicted to knock-knock jokes as her body slowly breaks down. Kyrie Lokhaiser plays Frances as the moral, slightly gossipy member of the group with a stern façade that cracks occasionally to show how much Frances cares for her co-workers.
The male actors double up on roles and allow language and body language to set the characters apart. Sam Thinnes is especially strong as he moves from Catherine’s husband, angrily struggling with feelings of emasculation, to the stooped, soft voiced doctor who agrees to testify at the girls’ trial when no other physician is willing to stand up to the company. Grant Allen Clark as Mr. Reed shows empathy with his sick workers, even offering his own money to Catherine, while as Leonard Grossman the lawyer, he is brash, energetic and fully in control.
Keith Osborne’s set and Philip Ball’s lighting design are beautifully crafted. A glowing clock sits at the back of the stage reinforcing the subject of the play as well as the idea that these vivacious women are living on borrowed time from the moment they dip the paintbrush against their lips. A ticking clock sound effect reminds the audience not only of the girls’ impending doom but also of the sound of the human heart.
There aren’t a lot of laughs in this painful drama, but there is a lot of joy — the joy of female friendships, the joy of feeling useful in a job, and the joy of taking on the bad guys and winning even while paying the ultimate price.
“These Shining Lives” will leave audiences deeply moved and with conversations that will continue long after the curtain falls.
“These Shining Lives” continues its run at the Butler Little Theatre through Saturday, Nov. 23. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available at butlerlittletheatre.com. “These Shining Lives” runs approximately 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
