The Radiant - Theatre Review



By Harrison Held

"The Radiant" is directed by talented Australian director/actress Jane Edwina Seymour. The intriguing new play about Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie was written by Shirley Lauro and is now playing at a cool venue called The Other Space at The Actors Company in Hollywood.

Polish born scientist Marie Curie was well played by Nina Sallinen. Curie was known to go against the trends of her era to follow her passion for science, but unknown to many were the happenings in her personal life outside of her extraordinary achievements in the field of science. Per director Jane Edwina Seymour, the story is factual except for the fictional character of her young confidante Katarina, well-played by Andrea Flowers.

John Moschitta Jr. energetically plays several colorful characters and Conrad Cecil is great at rounding out the cast as Curie's assistant and secret married lover. The play reveals many surprising things about the struggles, the enterprising and pioneering Marie Curie endured to survive -- she was a very gutsy and driven woman, and she had to be in her male-dominated field. I quite enjoyed the spacious set designed by Karen Ipock where the different poignant chapters of Curie's life play out and Taylor Sandling's costumes are first rate in this absorbing historical trip to the past.

The former Marie Skiodowska was a gifted and driven student. She came to Paris to further her scientific studies at the famous Sorbonne after leaving her native Poland where she experienced broad cultural repression as a result of years of Russian tyranny. Her work, along with her beloved husband Pierre Curie would usher in a brave new world known as the Atomic Age.

The play begins in Paris in 1906 after Curie lost her husband following a tragic accident. She is left with two small children to raise and is destitute but her tenacious drive and ambition keep her dreams alive. "The Radiant" will play until November 19th and is produced by RPW and Stories About Humans with consulting producers Theatre Planners. For reservations call 323 960 7712 or visit www.Plays411.com/radiant.


Posted By Discover Hollywood on November 06, 2017 04:53 pm | Permalink