Jake Haughey

Script Research

Paul Zindel was the writer of ​The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon
Marigolds. ​In his high school days, he started writing, and wrote his first play. His peers liked his
writing and asked him to write something for the school assembly. In college, he had a writing
mentor who helped him greatly. After college, he became a teacher, and continued to write
plays.

He realized he could do more for teens by writing instead of teaching. Four of his written
plays have been on Broadway, including ​The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon
Marigolds, Ladies at the Alamo, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, ​and ​And Miss Reardon
Drinks a Little.

His first staged play, ​The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds, ​won 2
awards, being the 1970 Drama Desk Award Most Promising Playwright​, and the 1971 Pulitzer
Prize for Drama. “ It is the kind of story that just sort of pops right out of you, because you've
lived it”, says Paul Zindel.

A theme in story was Triumph in the Face of Adversity. Beatrice, the main character in
the story, is caught up in all of the negativity in her life, so she can't see the positivity. Unlike
Beatrice, Tillie, one of her daughters, doesn't let the negativity put her down.

I liked the play. It got confusing at times, because I didn't really know where the plot was
going. Act 1 was the most confusing, but when I got to Act 2, the story started to make sense.
Act 1 was the hardest to understand most of the words used I did not even know they were
words. For example, I’ve never heard of the word hossenpffer, impetigo, or marigolds.
Marigolds, I found out they are a type of flower. Even though some of the text didnt make sense
to me, the story was still fun to read.

Bibliography
League, The Broadway. “IBDB.com.” ​IBDB: Internet Broadway Database​,
www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/paul-zindel-8075/#awards. Accessed 7 Sept. 2017.
 
“Paul Zindel Biography.” ​Paul Zindel: Biography by Paul​, www.paulzindel.com/bio/biobypz.htm.