Walpole Footlighters Announce Auditions for Radium Girls

The Walpole Footlighters are pleased to announce auditions for their winter production of Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory, directed by Marianne Phinney, on Sunday and Monday, October 22 and 23, at 7:30 PM at the Footlighters Playhouse, 2 Scout Road, East Walpole, Mass. Callbacks, if needed, will be on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 PM.
 
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Show dates are February 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, and 17 at 8:00 PM and February 11 and 18 at 2:00 PM. Rehearsals are tentatively scheduled for Sundays, Tuesday, and Thursdays.
 
The cast calls for 4 to 5 men and 5 women.  Additional actors may be cast as appropriate.
 
Go to Signup Genius to select an audition time: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4CAEA729AB9-auditions
 
Summary:
 
In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Her chief adversary is her former employer, Arthur Roeder, an idealistic man who cannot bring himself to believe that the same element that shrinks tumors could have anything to do with the terrifying rash of illnesses among his employees. As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation, but with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire. Written with warmth and humor, Radium Girls is a fast-moving, highly theatrical ensemble piece for 9 to 10 actors, who play more than 30 parts—friends, co-workers, lovers, relatives, attorneys, scientists, consumer advocates, and myriad interested bystanders. Called a "powerful" and "engrossing" drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science.
 
Please direct any questions to [email protected] or to director Marianne Phinney at [email protected].
 
The main characters are:
 
Grace Fryer, a dial painter. Age 15 at the start of the play, 26 at the close
Katheryn Schaub, a dial painter, Grace Fryer’s friend
Irene Rudolph, Katheryn’s cousin
Sob Sister (Nancy Jane Harlan), a tabloid reporter for the New York Graphic
Katherine Wiley, executive director, New York Consumer’s League
Arthur Roeder, President of the U.S. Radium Corporation
C.B. “Charlie” Lee, Vice president, later President of U.S. Radium Corp
Tom Kreider, Grace’s boyfriend
Edward Markley, Counsel for U.S. Radium Corporation
Dr. Von Sochocky, founder of U.S. Radium Corporation, inventor of luminous paint
 
All actors except those playing Grace Fryer and Arthur Roeder will play multiple roles and members of the public.