Pam Mautz Cantrell and Jessica White in “The Half-Life of Marie Curie" at the Black Box Theatre -- September 19 through 28.
Friday, September 19, through Sunday, September 28
The Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL
Hailed by Time Out New York as a "frisky, feminist crowd-pleaser" that's "enlightening and entertaining," the two-woman historical drama The Half-Life of Marie Curie enjoys its Quad Cities debut at Moline's Black Box Theare September 19 through 28, its playwright Lauren Gunderson the author of previously acclaimed Black Box productions including Silent Sky, I & You and The Revolutionists.
In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. By 1912, however, she was the object of ruthless gossip over an alleged affair with the married Frenchman Paul Langevin, all but erasing her achievements from public memory. In The Half-Life of Marie Curie, with its title character weakened and demoralized by the press lambasting her as a “foreign" Jewish temptress and a homewrecking traitor, Marie agrees to join her friend and colleague Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, and recover from the scandal at Hertha's seaside retreat on the British coast. Gunderson's acclaimed play consequently revels in the power of female friendship as it explores the relationship between these two brilliant women, both of whom are mothers, widows, and fearless champions of scientific inquiry.
Serving as director and designer of The Half-Life of Marie Curie is the venue's co-founder and artistic director Lora Adams, whose recent presentations for her venue have included The Stranger, All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story, and the United States premiere of Florian Zeller's The Truth. “I love Gunderson’s writing," said Adams, "so when I read Half-Life I knew it was perfect for The Black Box. It’s not only a wonderful story, but I learned things about her accomplishments other than her Nobel prizes. I think others will love it, too.”
With the play's sound design by Doug Kutzli and lighting design by Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Richardson, The Half-Life of Marie Curie's ensemble is composed solely of two gifted area performers: Jessica White (the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Unnecessary Farce; the Prenzie Players' Much Ado About Nothing) as Marie Curie and Pam Mautz Cantrell (the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Girls' Weekend; Genesius Guild's Antony & Cleopatra) as Hertha Ayrton. Adams' production marks the first Black Box performances for both frequent stage talents.
The Half-Life of Marie Curie runs in Moline from September 19 through 28, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sndays at 2 p.m. Admission is $18, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.
