Auditions for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in the Coughlin Nursing Auditorium.  No advanced work is required; scenes from the play will be read for the audtions.  Two women and three girls are needed; all are welcome to audition.

The late Paul Zindel's Pulitzer prize-winning play tells the story of a family of three, dominated by a larger-than-life mother, Beatrice, who laments the loss of her dancing career which she exchanged for a family and a husband who deserted her.  Her youngest daughter Tillie finds a sustaining refuge from complex family relationships in the beauty and unlimited horizons of scientific exploration, specifically a science project about the effect of gammas rays on marigolds.  Her older sister Ruth finds her comfort in boys and tormenting Tillie. The play is a moving illustration of the effects of loneliness and shattered dreams on the past, present and future of family life. "Marigolds" also won the 1970 Obie Award and was later made into a Twentieth-Century Fox film starring Joanne Woodward as Beatrice.

Also in the cast of characters is Janice Vickery, Tillie’s chief competition in the science fair, with her funny monologue about how she ended up with a cat skeleton which she displays to the audience.  Nanny is the fifth character, a blind and mute boarder whose haunting presence shades the action of the story.

Beatrice and Nanny should be played by actresses who can play maturity; they don’t necessarily have to be “old.”  Three girls are needed for Tillie, Ruth, and Janice.

All are welcomed to audition.  For additional information, contact Dr. Jim Stacy at 473-6467.

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