In the 1920s, radium was viewed as a miracle material. It was discovered by scientist Marie Curie and promoted for its uses as a medical treatment and in products ranging from paint to cosmetics. But the miracle turned into a nightmare for real women who worked in factories at the time painting watch faces with radium paint.

Their story is told in "Radium Girls," a play that will be performed by students at Elizabethtown Area High School. Performances will take place on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 and 7 p.m., in the high school auditorium, 600 E. High St.

Based on a true story, the play follows Grace Fryer and her coworkers as they battle the U.S. Radium Corporation once they learn of the dangers of radium. They face pressure to back down from their supervisors, the press and even their own families, and they must decide how much they are willing to do to be heard.

Junior Avery Heckman portrays Grace.

"At first, she's not sure what's going on at the factory, but then people start dying," Avery said. "She uses that as her fuel to keep going, keep fighting. She finds a reason to have this goal to stand up for what's right."

Senior Annika Erikson portrays Marie Curie in the play, a figure who Grace idolizes in the first act but then becomes the subject of her nightmares in the second act, Annika said.

She also plays Diane Roeder, the wife of factory president Arthur Roeder.

"I'm almost the human aspect of his character," she said, describing the business-focused personality of Arthur, played by junior Stephen Fasick.

"I start the show off as an eager businessman who wants to make a name for himself," Stephen said. "He undertakes the burden of dealing with all these problems in the factory. "He's a good man at heart, but he still has a business to run and still has to make some crucial yet awful decisions that end up affecting the girls in a terrible way."

He's encouraged by Charles Lee, played by senior James Mott, to continue producing the products despite the health consequences.

"My character is the worst guy in the whole show," James said. "He's an eager guy who wants to get higher up in the business. He doesn't care that people are dying. He just wants to keep the business going."

Stephen and James both noted that they have enjoyed the fights between their characters, and James has especially liked playing a villain.

"I'm sort of like the devil on his shoulder," he said of his relationship with Stephen's character. "We fight about the morality of the situation."

Stephen said his character grows throughout the show.

"He's painted as a bad guy, but he does what he deems is necessary," he said. "Toward the end of the show, he develops more of a conscience."

That's not true for the character of Charles, James said, adding, "I keep doing the bad things I'm doing, and I don't become a better person. It's a very different role for me to play, and it's been challenging."

Avery noted that playing a character based on a real woman not much older than herself has made an impression.

"It kind of takes a toll on you," she said. "You have to embody this character and what she went through, and that can be a lot to take in."

Sixty students are involved in the production, working both onstage and behind the scenes.

The cast is excited to showcase a somewhat darker show than they've done in the past, Stephen said.

"This is the most emotional undertaking we've done in the past few years," he said. "It's a very serious show. It's very powerful. I think the theme of the show is the power of ordinary people, and how, oftentimes, there is no inherent right or wrong in a situation. ... This isn't an easy show to pull off. Just watching everybody become their characters has been great."

For more information or to purchase tickets for "Radium Girls," visit https://tinyurl.com/EAHSRadiumGirls26.

Tickets will also be available at the door beginning one hour before each performance. Only cash or checks will be accepted at the door.