It’s 1917 and the country is in the middle of a world war. Women are working jobs traditionally held by men — many times kept in the dark about the corresponding danger of those jobs.

Such was the case at the U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey, where women were busy detailing watch faces, clocks and dials with a luminous paint. It was painstaking and delicate work. The women were encouraged to create pointy tips on their brushes by using their lips or licking them with their tongues for accuracy in placing the material on the dials. They were told to lick, dip and paint. The novelty of the glowing paint had some of the women painting it on their nails and lips.

What they didn’t know was that the paint they were using was radioactive. Their jobs were literally killing them.

The Tamaqua Area Drama Club will present the play “Radium Girls,” based on the true life events, for its fall production.

Written by D.W. Gregory, the play was inspired by the events that happened in and around Orange during a 10-year time span between 1917 and 1927. The men who developed the paint and hired the women conveniently failed to tell them the paint was toxic, exposing them to radiation poisoning.

While the women unknowingly ingested the radiation, the company owners, chemists and scientists all shielded themselves with lead screens and masks whenever they expected to come in contact with the material.

When the girls developed mysterious symptoms and began to die, the company started a disinformation campaign, smearing the women’s reputations.

Several of the victims decided to sue the company.

The historic court fight was important on two fronts, leading to major advancements in labor rights and health care.

The play centers on dial painter Grace Fryer, as portrayed by Talia Lewis, for the Tamaqua production. Her chief adversary is Arthur Roeder, president of U.S. Radium, played by David Hull. While Lewis seeks justice for the sickened workers, she also runs into interference from family and friends, who worry her campaign for justice will backfire.

In addition to Lewis and Hull, the cast features 45 students in grades seven through 12, including: Kipp Tonkin, Sarah Martinez, McKayla Wall, Briana Morrison, Ethan Turrano, Nathaniel Noftz, Tyrone Rarick, Emily Barrett, Justin Lewis, Emma Hoch, Grace Kinder, Jessica Koscak, Anna McCabe, Kaya Renee Lutz, Amelia Cassell, Olivia Lattanzi, Ashley Haldaman, Enoch Bolles, Sarah Bolles, Mason Job, Eileen Lusch, Zach McGlinchey, Adrian Nikolai Bilodeau, Zach Frie, Alexxa Kowalski, Alyssa Frye, Madison Frye, Megan Oswald, Mia Jones, McKenna Thompson, Ava Kunkel, Haylee Burns, Helen Florea, Holly Wagner, Jaci Ohl, Kaitlyn Yorgey, Michael Hegedus, Phoenix Ritchie, Amy Hadesty, Leah Louise Mateyak, Noah Griffin, Jocelyn Rega and Nick Wall.

Show dates will be Friday at 7 p.m.; and at 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Tamaqua School District Auditorium.

Doors to the auditorium will open one hour before show time. Tickets will be available at the door at $10 for adults and $8 for students.