The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds at Spotlighters Theatre

The old, converted vegetable shop on Staten Island in the early 1960s where Tillie lives is more like a madhouse than a home. Tillie's mother, Beatrice, is bitter and occasionally cruel, yet desperate for her two daughters' love. Tillie's sister Ruth is a snoop and a gossip; she suffers seizures and sneaks cigarettes every chance she gets. In the midst of chaos, Tillie struggles to keep her focus on science alive. Tillie — keeper of rabbits, dreamer of atoms, true believer in life, hope, and the effects of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds. This play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1970.