‘Radium Girls’ to shine on Surprise stage

What: “Radium Girls”

When: 7 p.m. June 21, 22, 27 and 28 and 2 p.m. June 23 and 29

Where: Stage Left Productions, 11340 W. Bell Road, Suite 105

Tickets: $25

Information: stageleftaz.com/radiumgirls

Up next at Stage Left Productions in Surprise is “Radium Girls” by D.W. Gregory.

This historical tale is based on a true story of women who worked in a New Jersey factory in the 1920s painting watch dials with radium-infused paint and became ill.

In 1926, radium was thought of as a miracle cure, Madame Curie was an international celebrity, and the luminous watches the latest rage — until the women who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease.

“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.

“Radium Girls” is a fast-moving play written with warmth and humor. This is an ensemble piece with 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.

“Radium Girls,” directed by Christian Graca and stars Anora Biggs, Jayda Valentine, Ashley Diane, Tracy Burns, Thomas F. Graca, Ryan Dammeyer, Charlie Gray, Will Friday and Scott Sims, opens on Friday, June 21 and runs through Saturday, June 29.

Performances are at 7 p.m. on June 21, 22, 27 and 28 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 23 and Saturday, June 29.

Tickets can be purchased for $25 at stageleftaz.com/radiumgirls or over the phone during box office hours from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Stage Left Productions is located at 11340 W. Bell Road, Suite 105. Call 623-285-6321.