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Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 5m

Alan Alda

"Juicy, gaslit melodrama [...] illuminates the challenges that Marie Curie faced in pursuing a career in the sciences at a time when it was virtually unheard of for women to take prominent roles in academic or public life." – The New York Times

Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Alan Alda – Winner! John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre

Details

Summary
With backbreaking work in a ramshackle lab in Paris, Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, achieve a revolutionary understanding of radiation and share a Nobel Prize. When her beloved Pierre dies in an accident, Marie is plunged into depression. Paul Langevin, fleeing an unhappy marriage, gives her the strength to return to her work. But the scandal over their affair threatens to end her career – just when she might become the first person ever to receive a second Nobel Prize.
History
2011 Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, California.
Keywords
Performing Groups

MARIE CURIE - Early 40s; slight Polish accent.
PAUL LANGEVIN - A little younger than Marie.
PIERRE CURIE - A little older than Marie.
JEANNE LANGEVIN - 30s.
ÉMILE BOREL - 40s; a mathematician.
MARGUERITE BOREL - 20s; a novelist.
CAN BE PLAYED BY THE SAME ACTOR: TERBOUGIE - 50s; a journalist; can be played by the same actor who plays TÖRNEBLADH.
TÖRNEBLADH - 50s; a scientist; Swedish accent; can be played by the same actor who plays TERBOUGIE.

OTHER CHARACTERS, PLAYED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMPANY:
SECONDS AT A DUEL
STUDENTS

  • Time Period 1910s / WWI
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

REVIEWS:

"Juicy, gaslit melodrama [...] illuminates the challenges that Marie Curie faced in pursuing a career in the sciences at a time when it was virtually unheard of for women to take prominent roles in academic or public life." – The New York Times

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Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Alan Alda

Alan Alda
Alan Alda has written five feature films (including The Four Seasons and The Seduction of Joe Tynan), two best selling books, and 19 episodes of the highly acclaimed television series M*A*S*H, one of which was awarded an EMMY for writing. The final episode, which he co-wrote, ...
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