DEMAREST—The Academy of the Holy Angels Theater Program will present Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory from Nov. 7 to 9 at the school’s theater, offering four performances of a drama that helped change American labor history.
Set in the 1920s, Radium Girls follows young women who painted luminous watch dials with radium, unaware the glow-in-the-dark paint was poisoning them. When illness spread among the workers, one woman’s decision to speak out sparked a landmark fight for workplace safety and corporate accountability.
The story is rooted in Garden State history: the first cases arose at the United States Radium Corporation plant in Orange, where hundreds of women were exposed while painting watch faces with radium-based “Undark” paint. They were told the substance was harmless and even encouraged to shape their brushes between their lips—a deadly practice that led to radiation poisoning. Their courage in suing the company in the late 1920s helped establish modern workplace safety and labor-protection laws in the U.S. and beyond.
Playwright D.W. Gregory has said, “Radium Girls may speak to our collective capacity for denial. But it also celebrates our individual courage.” The AHA cast aims to bring that balance of heartbreak and heroism to life onstage.
The performance continues a rich tradition of theater at Holy Angels, where students take on leading roles both on stage and behind the scenes—as student directors, choreographers, and stage managers—and often shadow professionals to learn the craft firsthand. AHA productions have earned honors from the Montclair State University Theatre Night Awards, Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Program, and Metropolitan High School Theatre Awards. Past shows include Cinderella, Little Women, Urinetown, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Performances are Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors (plus small fees) at aha.booktix.com.
The production offers wheelchair seating and assisted listening devices. For details, email tickets@holyangels.org or call 201-914-7873.
Follow @AHA_Theater on Instagram and Twitter for updates. Academy of the Holy Angels is at 315 Hillside Ave.
