Poisoned, killed, and forever affected by your workplace using radium in products, being a Radium Girl.

This year, “Radium Girls” was performed as Millikan’s Fall Play on Nov 14 and 15. Based on a true story, the play follows young Grace Fryer and the factory girls as they are poisoned by factories using radium in paint for glow in the dark watches during World War I for soldiers.

Ms. Efrat, the play’s director and Millikan’s new Drama teacher, said “I picked “Radium Girls” cause it was a show I was really passionate about and I thought would be a good match for these students.” 

Efrat continues, “The play [was] taken from the real historical characters and the actual event, we added music based on the time period and we took songs and distorted them to make them sound a little creepier,” describing how Millikan’s Drama Department has fitted and added to the original play with a few surprises. 

Peta Eriksen, COMPASS senior, who plays one of the radium girls, Katherine, said “My character has a very big jump between the beginning [and] ending. But she’s very fun and upgoing, I get super bubbly, then have to really focus on shifting into a more deep, darker feeling.” 

The deliberately slow, creepy play had the audience unsettled and intrigued. The powerful acting was able to move the viewers and stir emotions. The play was meant to give the audience an eerie feeling and teach them how the Radium Girls helped create workers rights and was very successful in that.

“Thanks to our coaches and my teacher, it was very quick and easy to learn everybody’s lines,” said Lauren Van Andel, junior in PEACE and an actress in the play, “I am the reporter in the story and I basically exploit the Radium Girls, and I want to profit off their deaths.”

After weeks of stress and commitment, the play was performed with the help of Ms. Efrat, their acting coaches and the dedication of Millikan’s students made the play come to life.