num_pages: 103
description: Cast: 4m/4w. Radiance presents the events, persons &amp; deeds involved in the making &amp; 1st use of the atomic bomb. From the actual experiences of those involved, three separate stories are woven into a seamless fabric. The central narrative follows a physicist's lifework from when he leaves graduate school to work with Dr. Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project, to the time he visits Hiroshima to see for himself the devastating effects of his work. A 2nd follows the lifelong friendship of two women, one Scottish, one Japanese, from their childhood in Japan until they are reunited long after the war. The 3rd focuses on a Japanese minister &amp; the hibakusha--those exposed to the radiation--to whom he devotes his life. All three culminate in the controversy over the Smithsonian's plan to exhibit the Enola Gay, the airplane used to drop it. Radiance provokes us into considering the ways in which history is made, remembered &amp; forgotten, highlighting how difficult &amp; yet necessary it is to discuss the issues involved in the birth of the nuclear age &amp; our own responsibilities for the consequences thereof. Preface by Martin Harwit, past director of the Air &amp; Space Museum of the Smithsonian. Bare stage w/props. Production &amp; study notes included w/text. Sound effects tape available. Piano/vocal scores rentals available.
language: English
title: The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project
titlecomplete: The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project
characters: Robert Oppenheimer
ratings_count: 5
publisher: Dramatic Publishing (Woodstock, IL)