The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

Domestic drama depicting a mentally unbalanced woman's far-reaching effects on the lives of her two daughters

Beatrice was a mother . . . and the embittered ringmaster of the circus Hunsdorfer featuring three generations of crazy ladies living under the sloppiest big top on earth. Nanny was no problem. She sat and stared and stayed silent as a venerable vegetable should. Ruth was half-mad and easily bought with an occasional cigarette. But how is the world would Beatrice control Tillie--keeper of rabbits, dreamer of atoms, true believer in life, hope, and the effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds . . .

"Paul Zindel was written a masterful, pacesetting drama. It combines moments of pain, poignancy, beauty, and hope. It is the most compelling work of its kind since Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie."--Variety.

"The ultimate accolade must go to Paul Zindel for creating a psychologically perceptive ambiance. Shame hangs in the air of this house and palpably as poison gas. And yet, Zindel reminds us, strong, strange, beautiful flowers spring from such compost heaps. It is a troubling thought, one of the honest and intelligent values of this splendid and tormented play."--Time