Mad Horse Announces THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS for March-April

Mad Horse Theatre Company will present THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN-IN-THE-MOON MARIGOLDS, by Paul Zindel. The play opens March 15, and runs Thursday to Sunday through April 1, at Lucid Stage, 29 Baxter Blvd, Portland.

Zindel’s play, which won an Obie Award, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Drama, tells the story of single mother Beatrice Hunsdorfer, and her teenage daughters, Ruth and Matilda. Abandoned by her husband and saddled with two children, Beatrice hates the world. She thinks she just needs the right opportunity, and everything will get better. Older sister Ruth knows the reputation her mother has around town, but she seems sadly fated to repeat her mother’s mistakes in her own life. Shy Matilda, or Tillie, is the joke of her school and her family, until a teacher opens her eyes to the wonders of science. When Tilllie’s project on the effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigold seeds is chosen for the school science fair, the dysfunctional family dynamic comes to a head.

Zindel’s semi-autobiographical work is loosely based on his own experience growing up in a single-parent household with a mother who constantly threatened suicide. Mad Horse Theatre Company member Chris Horton, who is directing the play, calls it timeless. “We all have mothers, and we carry the impact of our early years throughout our lives. Relationships with mothers are complex, and sometimes challenging. The play examines a particularly difficult relationship, and how an individual can prevail in the face of dreadful circumstances,” he says. “It is a play about love and forgiveness.”

The cast includes Christine Louise Marshall, Ruth Gray, Veronica Druchniak, Nora Daly, and Muriel Kenderdine.

A silent auction to benefit Mad Horse Theatre Company will coincide with all performances. However, show times for the third week have been adjusted to allow patrons to attend special pre-show auction receptions. This is an opportunity to browse the auction and make final bids at a leisurely pace prior to the performance. Show times for the third week are: Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:30pm, and Sunday evening at 6pm.

Mad Horse also offers pay-what-you-can performances each Thursday during the run. Thursday, March 15, will be Teacher’s Night, with a special Talk Back session immediately following the performance.

Tickets are $22 for adults and $20 for students and seniors. Call the Box Office at 899-3993, or visit http://www.lucidstage.com/.