NOVA Nightsky Theater’s current production, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play from author and science teacher Paul Zindel. The story features an alcoholic and mentally unstable single mother and her two school-age daughters, who are attempting to thrive despite their meager situation and chaotic upbringing, which teeters between neglectful and overbearing in a single breath. The youngest of the two has proven to have a mind for science and, with the encouragement of a teacher, enters her school’s science fair with an experiment on the developmental effects of radiation on a flower’s seeds. The drama is a poignant piece that demonstrates the possibilities of survival beyond life’s limitations and the power of determination.
For a community theater with a mission “to highlight and showcase the talents of local female-identifying actors,” it is easy to guess why this particular play was chosen. With a cast of five women, most having a layered and complex history, the show offers performers a meaty role to explore, and the actors prove themselves to be up to the challenge.
The theater is located in a small suite at the top of some stairs, in a shopping center in Falls Church. It’s an unlikely place to mount a production but the group makes it work, outfitting the room to resemble a messy living area with a sofa, a small square table, a cluttered counter with cabinets, and a bathroom. The audience is seated in folding chairs on tiers, facing the performance space, with the lighting and technical equipment set up behind them.
Jaclyn Robertson is fantastic as Beatrice Hunsdorfer, the narcissistic mom who cannot see past her own misery and self-loathing to notice the abuse and torment she submits to everyone around her. Beatrice is a tragic character, and Robertson makes it difficult not to sympathize with her, despite her abhorrent behavior.
There is a darkly comedic aspect to Beatrice that is exposed in a phone conversation she has with her kids’ teacher, Mr. Goodman. Her demeanor cunningly slides between self-righteous indignation at his unwelcome interest in her child, into blatant flirtation by a grown woman who knows that sex is a currency. Robertson displays this fluctuation with absolute ease and convincingly portrays the intricacies of an unhinged woman in a tortured existence where she truly believes that she is the only victim.
Playing the timid Tilly is Callie Stapleton. Stapleton does an excellent job as the struggling youth, bullied by her only living parent and working to subtly excel in school without causing any unnecessary attention to herself or her home life. Stapleton’s Tilly is the picture of patience and humility, wise beyond her years and painfully aware of her unstable situation in life. The way she moves with cautious, measured steps reveals Tilly’s astuteness, and her voice and tone — always calm and understated — convey Tilly’s understanding of how she must manage the storm of her mother’s emotions in order to get by.
Tilly’s older sister, Ruth (Clare Shannon), suffers from epilepsy and a nervous condition. Shannon’s Ruth is troubled and confused — always with a conflicted expression like someone at war with their own thoughts. Ruth is not the best sister to Tilly, but the two do care for each other as best they can in a dysfunctional home. Beatrice favors Ruth, but more attention from a toxic mom does nothing for her already anxiety-ridden brain.
In an intense scene, Robertson’s Beatrice and Shannon’s Ruth are furiously fighting, ultimately sending Ruth into an epileptic fit. The lightning switch in their dynamic from screaming adversaries to doting mother and clinging child is nauseating, but it also stunningly displays the intense level of manipulation that Beatrice has exposed her children to.
Adding to the brokenness of the home is Joan Evans as Nanny, a boarder whom Beatrice is paid to tend to, which she does in the most minimal capacity possible. Nanny never speaks but will slowly totter out with her walker to sit at the table and take her tea. Beatrice verbally abuses the old woman but Evans’ Nanny placidly blinks back at her with sincere indifference — a reaction that only feeds into Beatrice’s false self-narrative that she is overlooked and unappreciated by everyone around her, further alienating her from her daughters and adding to the tensions of the house.
And while we only see her for one scene, I must mention Tilly’s competition for the school fair, Janice (Kinsey Robertson). Robertson as Janice, a sadistic child, offers a disturbingly joyful description of the process for boiling the skin off of a dead cat to get to the skeleton for her science fair presentation. The moment is short but does offer levity, albeit dark, in an otherwise heavy narrative.
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a lovely production, beautifully performed by local actors. The psychology and science of the material and its metaphoric poetry make for an interesting journey, and the cast does a compelling job of bringing this emotional story to life for the audience to experience.
NOVA Nightsky is a small community theater with a tiny space and a humble budget but an enormous heart, as shown in the passion they put into their productions and their clear love of the theater. A sentiment we can all relate to. Definitely seek out this show for an intelligent and heartfelt evening of entertainment.
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, with one 10-minute intermission.
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds play through June 30, 2024, at NOVA Nightsky Theater, 1057 W Broad St, Unit 216, Falls Church, VA. Tickets ($28.70) are available online. For tickets and more information, visit novanightskytheater.com.
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
By Paul Zindell
Directed by Jessie Roberts
CAST
Beatrice: Jaclyn Robertson; Tillie: Callie Stapleton; Ruth: Clare Shannon; Nanny: Joan Evans; Janice: Kinsey Robertson
TECH & CREATIVE TEAM
Stage Manager: Fosse Thornton; Sound & Lighting Design: Adam Parker; Lighting Assistants: Lucas Czechowski and Noelani Stevenson; Set Decor, Scenic & Property Design: Ilyana Rose:Dávila; Scenic Design Assistants: Adam Ressa and Jaclyn Robertson; Costumes: Carol Pappas; Intimacy Coordination: Jessie Tourtellotte; Photography: Chip Gertzog; Logo Design: Raeanna Nicole Larson; Publicity & Graphics: Adam Ressa and Jaclyn Robertson; House Management: Pilar Bruyere, Ward Kay, and Sarah Baczewski
COVID Safety: Masks are optional.
