Penned by Melanie Marnich, THESE SHINING LIVES is documentary fiction based on a true story about four women who represent hundreds and even thousands of females who worked at the Radium Dial Company watch factory in Ottawa, Illinois, in the 1920s and 1930s. The play premiered in 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is a favorite with community theater groups. In 2025, the Actors Co-op proudly presents THESE SHINING LIVES.
John Colella, Shannon Woo, Jessica Woehler, Allison Schlicher, and Abigail Stewart – Photo by Larry Sandez
The place is Ottawa, Illinois; and the time spans 1922 to 1938, primarily in the Donohue home and the Radium Dial Company workroom. Scenes are fleeting and fluid. For Catherine Donohue (Abigail Stewart), Pearl (Allison Schlicher), Charlotte (Jessica Woehler), and Frances (Shannon Woo), this is certainly the luckiest day of 1922. They have been offered high-paying jobs by the Radium Dial Company. All they have to do is paint the hour markings on different sized watch dials using a radium compound which glows in the dark. What could be more appealing to a group of women with few salable skills who need to find work. The company assures them that using radium is perfectly safe and that, in fact, there are some health benefits to exposure.
Isaac Jay and Abigail Stewart – Photo by Larry Sandez
After some months, the women notice that their hands are glowing in the dark – but the company physician (Michael Kachingwe) and their supervisor/manager Mr. Reed (John Colella) assure them that radium is completely safe and not to worry. More time passes, and the women – almost all in their 20s – begin to develop various ailments like jaw infections, bleeding, and bone pain. But, again, the symptoms are ignored by the company doctor. Each of the women is experiencing escalating pain and unusual physical ailments and each is prescribed aspirin by the same company physician. Eventually, the quartet travel to Chicago to locate a physician who is willing to examine them – and diagnoses radium poisoning! After the initial shock wears off, they decide that they will not take this lying down. And so they file a lawsuit. Apparently, the women prevailed in seven cases, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sad to say, it was too late to turn the clock back – or restore their youth and health. Perhaps these four women were not victims, but rather heroes fighting for all of us.
Shannon Woo, Jessica Woehler, Abigail Stewart, and Allison Schlicher – Photo by Larry Sandez
Skillfully helmed by Thom Babbes, THESE SHINING LIVES slowly builds up tension as the women become sicker and sicker – and finally are fired for missing too many days at work. The talented ensemble cast grips the audience as their plight grows and their fear escalates. The production team – including Joel Daavid’s set design and Nick Santiago’s projections – place the women in the center of an abstract quilt of time – which may be running out as ticking time slows and then speeds up. A. Jeffrey Schoenberg’s costumes take us back to an era when workers’ conditions were of little concern to top management, and Derrick McDaniel’s lighting and David Marling’s guide us on this inexorable and tragic journey.
Shannon Woo, Jessica Woehler, Abigail Stewart, and Allison Schlicher – Photo by Larry Sandez
THESE SHINING LIVES will certainly appeal to those interested in history, especially the history of the labor movement and the attitudes of management in the 1920s. But remember that these were really everyday housewives and moms who decided to contribute to their family’s economic welfare – so there is also a normal, homey quality to their lives which will tug at the heartstrings. THESE SHINING LIVES is powerful, poignant, moving, and thought-provoking.
John Colella and Isaac Jay – Photo by Larry Sandez
THESE SHINING LIVES runs through March 30, 2025, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays and specific Saturdays. The Actors Co-op performs at the Crossley Theatre on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church, 1760 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, CA 90028. Tickets are $35 (seniors $30; students $25; union members $25). For information and reservations, call 323-462-8460 or go online.
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