It's the first Thursday of February in one of the longest winters we can remember.  Driving to Williamston over snow-covered roads, the night is crisp, cold, and clear.  

We decide it's a perfect evening to spend inside at the Williamston Theatre... opening night for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. 

The  effect of the wintry weather outside subsides immediately, as we immerse ourselves in the  warming effects of this 1971 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Paul Zindel and the magnificent cast, directed by John Lepard. 

It seems a good night to reflect on the themes of this play, as well....perseverance of the human spirit during cold and dreary times... when life itself seems often dysfunctional, and you long for some points of light.  

Points of light...like gamma rays on marigolds...flicker brightly in the personas of the cast: Stephanie Koenig as Janice, Jennifer Shafer as Tillie, Emily Sutton-Smith as Beatrice, Kellyn Uhl as Ruth, Gloria Vivalda as Nanny. Even Willie, as Peter  the angora-haired rabbit, gives a gently perfect performance, reflecting a soft touch to the dual forces of compassion and hatred being  explored.  

Lepard directs the rays and the cast blooms, bringing to life this story of Beatrice, a bitter, vindictive widow and her two daughters. The play is set in the 1950s.  

The drama by Zindel, who was a science teacher in New York, revolves around the family dynamics of Beatrice, Tillie (shy and studious, who is discovering her potential via a science project with marigolds), her outgoing older sister Ruth (who is unstable and prone to seizures) and Nanny (an elderly boarder) who doesn't speak, but who along with the girls, feels the rants of Beatrice.  

The beautiful thing about the Williamston Theatre is that it's theatre at its most 3D intimate.  Because of the closeness of the players to the audience, you experience the play more as a participant, rather than as an observer. So if you're expecting distance between you and the story, as in a movie house or huge auditorium with a grand stage, you won't find that here.  

But if you enjoy feeling as if you're living the story yourself, you will love the artistry with which this professional theatre company  places you within it. You are drawn into the experience, as an artist into a painting.  

Gamma Rays and Marigolds is not a feel-good comedy, in case the name may mislead you. It is a heart-rending story, expressed through the character of Tillie,  of the magnitude of the human soul. The energy and intensity of the cast pours through your own, as you become caught up in their portrayal of Zindel's drama.  

The play had a successful Off-Broadway run, and is considered an American Classic. Shortly after it won the Pulitzer Prize, Gamma Rays was picked up for a film adaptation (1972), directed by Paul Newman, with his wife Joanne Woodward and daughter Elinor (Nell Potts) and Roberta Wallach, daughter of Eli Wallach in the cast.  

Amazingly, A recent local papers's  entertainment section failed to mention Williamston Theatre  among the long list of productions you can go see this month from Detroit to East Lansing. At least I couldn't find it. So, I'm here to shout out to anyone within shouting distance on the web, who can get to Williamston...go see this play! 

Especially, now...during these difficult economic times. As Lepard writes in the program forward, “Little did we know that the themes of this play would mirror what our country would be going through with such clarity.” 

“In our play,” he notes, “Matilda finds hope through her love of science. It is what keeps her moving forward under very difficult circumstances, and her vision of the future pulls her through a nearly unbearable present. She knows what she wants in life, knows what she is capable of accomplishing, and this knowledge arms her with the strength to persevere and achieve her goals.” 

I'm not a theatre critic... I only know what I felt... and I invite you to view the production as a memo for inspiring your own triumphant spirit during these times.