James Caldwell High School Presents Radium Girls

James Caldwell High School will present Radium Girls as its fall production starting Friday, November 18, through Sunday, November 20, at the JCHS Center for the Performing Arts.

Radium Girls marks the first play at JCHS to be directed by new theater teacher/drama director Randy Bobish. It tells the true story of a group of young women who banded together to take legal action against the U.S. Radium Corporation for exposing them to radium in the workplace.

In the late 1910s through the 1920s, clocks with glow-in-the-dark numbers and dials were all the rage. The new radium-infused paint used to achieve this look was applied by mostly young women working in factories, some as young as 15, who were instructed to repeatedly use their lips to keep their brush tips pointy. The girls began developing a mysterious illness that gradually destroyed their teeth and jawbones and ultimately claimed their lives, but the U.S. Radium Corporation denied that the radium in the paint was the culprit. Radium had been billed as a “wonder” with numerous benefits, including health and beauty related.

“It’s a story about speaking out about what is right and standing up to those in power despite the odds of prevailing,” Bobish said. “Not only is it a classic underdog story, which people always connect with, but it also resonates strongly with high schoolers because the heroes of the story are young people. The young women in the cast particularly identify with the story since it shows empowerment of not just young voices, but women’s voices.”

The fact that the U.S. Radium Corporation was located in nearby Orange, NJ, provides another layer of interest to the storyline for the students, he added.

A total of 23 JCHS students are acting in the play, as well as various other students working behind the scenes as part of the stage crew. Bobish said that although the play has many characters and was designed for a small ensemble of about 10 actors, each playing multiple roles, he opted to not have as many performers double up on roles and include more students in the cast.

“The students have been enjoying the play very much. No one was really familiar with it, so I think they were a bit wary, but they have definitely become invested in the story overall and in their characters in particular. I think they're impressed with the radium girls' bravery, especially knowing that this all really happened,” Bobish said.

Originally from New Orleans, Bobish received his BFA in Theatre from the University of Miami in Florida and went on to work as a New York City-based actor for 14 years. He performed at regional theaters such as the Paper Mill Playhouse, acted on national tours including Grease and Sunset Boulevard, and graced the stage on Broadway’s 42nd Street and Fiddler on the Roof. He started teaching in NJ public schools in 2012 before joining the Caldwell-West Caldwell school district this year.

“Everyone at JCHS and GCMS has been very welcoming and incredibly supportive. I am very fortunate to be part of such a great team,” he said.

Bobish plans to take full advantage of his new role in the district by nurturing drama students as they hone their craft as well as showing non-performing students how they still can get involved with their own unique interests and talents.

“I'm hoping to increase the level of participation in the theatrical productions both on stage and off. It would be wonderful for more students to become aware of the many non-performing ‘roles’ there are in theater, and how some of their other interests or career goals, such as business, law, marketing, engineering, are all also vital components of the professional theater industry.”

Tickets to Radium Girls cost $5.00 each and are now available for online purchase at https://www.cwcboe.org/domain/52. Tickets may also be purchased at the door just before each performance. Showtimes are Friday, November 18, at 7:30 pm; Saturday, November 19, at 2 pm; and Sunday, November 20, at 2 pm.

Originally from New Orleans, Bobish received his BFA in Theatre from the University of Miami in Florida and went on to work as a New York City-based actor for 14 years. He performed at regional theaters such as the Paper Mill Playhouse, acted on national tours including Grease and Sunset Boulevard, and graced the stage on Broadway’s 42nd Street and Fiddler on the Roof. He started teaching in NJ public schools in 2012 before joining the Caldwell-West Caldwell school district this year.

“Everyone at JCHS and GCMS has been very welcoming and incredibly supportive. I am very fortunate to be part of such a great team,” he said.

Bobish plans to take full advantage of his new role in the district by nurturing drama students as they hone their craft as well as showing non-performing students how they still can get involved with their own unique interests and talents.

“I'm hoping to increase the level of participation in the theatrical productions both on stage and off. It would be wonderful for more students to become aware of the many non-performing ‘roles’ there are in theater, and how some of their other interests or career goals, such as business, law, marketing, engineering, are all also vital components of the professional theater industry.”