The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Tillie (Kimber Monroe), Ruth (Keona Welch), Beatrice (Perri Gaffney) Photo by HeyMrJason
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is the 1964 play written by Paul Zindel. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971. A recent production of the play ended its run on March 29, 2015 at The Schoolhouse Theater, a small, Equity theater in Croton Falls, NY.
The story revolves around a dysfunctional family of women, who live on Staten Island, a borough in the City of New York. A school science project of one of the characters gives the play its title.
From the beginning the character dynamic was clear. Beatrice is a past-her-prime-overbearing mother looking after her youngest daughter, Tillie, an inquisitive non-conforming girl with unlocked potential; her tragically vain first-born, Ruth, is afflicted with night terrors; Janice Vickery is Tillie’s only serious contender for winning the high school science project and a senile, incontinent old woman, Nanny, whose origin is unknown but, from whose family she earns a small stipend. What proved exciting to see was the harder-to-find family quirks peppered into the scenes revealing to the audience some of the deeper analogies. The play was a testament to alienation from the big city. More than that, the characters were heavily conflicted—all wrestled with insecurities spanning generations. With an all-female cast, the play did not appear to have blatant feminist overtones but rather, pointed out feelings of isolation and cynicism towards the public eye that, I think, we all can relate to. Though the play was heavy in symbolism, it did not interfere with character development, but the use of one-sided phone calls, with the audience eavesdropping, said everything one needed to know about the mother.
The performers aptly incorporated all the tenderness, frustration and patience involved in belonging to a family. I found myself heavily invested in the welfare of the characters, especially Beatrice’s, whose cringe-worthy cynicism felt justified and equally pitiful to watch. I was delighted, enraged, hopeful, sorrowful, warmed and invigorated by Beatrice, who was more toxic than the marigolds being exposed to radioactive gamma rays.
A pleasant surprise with this production was that all of the central characters were played by African-American actors. Elizabeth Van Dyke, director, is African-American as well. Perri Gaffney portrayed Beatrice, Kimber Monroe was Tillie, Keona Welch was Ruth. The two secondary roles were cast Caucasian; Susan King portrayed Nanny, and Sage Kitchen portrayed Janice Vickery.
Sophomore at Eugene Lang College at The New School in New York City
There was one other caucasian character, Janice Vickery, the only serious contender for winning the high school science project. Janice was masterfully portrayed by Sage Kitchen.