08/13/2026
Our Families Built Philadelphia
What did your family do when Philadelphia was a manufacturing powerhouse?
Before the factories closed, the machines went quiet, and whole industries disappeared, generations of Philadelphians built their lives around the work that kept this city moving. They worked in mills, factories, workshops, laboratories, foundries, textile plants, shipyards and countless other places where a hard day's work meant something.
And sometimes, the price of that work was far too high.
Philadelphia Stagecrafters presents These Shining Lives, the powerful story inspired by the Radium Dial Girls—women whose courage and determination helped expose the devastating consequences of unsafe working conditions and ultimately influenced worker protections far beyond their own communities.
Their story reminds us that workplace safety, accountability, and the right of workers to have a voice aren't abstract ideas. They were fought for by real people.
Now we want to hear YOUR family's story.
Did your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or great-grandparents work in Philadelphia's manufacturing heyday?
🏭 Where did they work?
👷 What did they do?
📸 Do you have photographs, company memorabilia or stories that have been passed down?
❤️ What did their work mean to your family?
Share your story in the comments—or tag someone whose family has a Philadelphia working-history story to tell.
Because the history of Philadelphia isn't just found in museums; It's in our families. It's in our neighborhoods. And it's in the stories we choose to remember.
Come see These Shining Lives and discover a story that began nearly a century ago—but still asks questions that matter today.
BUY TICKETS NOW AT : https://thestagecrafters.org/production/these-shining-lives/ -hnbchc
