Relatively speaking

The play, written by Paul Zindel in 1964, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1971 and was made into a movie of the same name in 1972. The film adaptation was directed by Paul Newman and featured his wife, Joanne Woodward, and daughter, Nell Potts, playing the mother and daughter roles.

Jeff Croff, Ixion Theatre’s artistic director and director of Ixion’s production of “Gamma Rays,” first met Kaleel Van Voorhees during his production of “Annie: The Musical.”

"This script seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring PK and Kaleel together onstage," Croff said. “‘Gamma Rays’ is about a mother and her two daughters. The mother is a little off-kilter and spends most of her time reliving the ills done to her throughout her life.”

"PK" Van Voorhees has been involved in the performing arts since she was young, cutting her teeth in the dance studio run by her mother, Theda Assiff. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater and dance and moved to New York, where she worked several years as a professional actress before returning to Michigan. She owns East Lansing’s Studio Performing Arts Center, where she teaches dance, singing and acting.

Following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, Kaleel Van Voorhees is involved in East Lansing High School’s drama program and is active at her mother’s studio.

“(Kaleel) is a great little actress, and a chance to work together is really fun,” "PK" Van Voorhees said.

In this production, "PK" Van Voorhees plays Beatrice Hunsdorfer, a self-absorbed mother who is bored with a life she feels is crumbling around her. Beatrice’s oldest daughter, Ruth, is played by Grace Hinkley. Ruth suffers from seizures after a traumatic incident involving the death of a boarder at the Hunsdorfer home. Kaleel Van Voorhees plays Beatrice’s youngest daughter, Tillie, who seeks refuge from her rough home life in the world of science.

"PK" Van Voorhees said that playing Beatrice, a frustrated and miserable mother, is difficult at times for both her and her daughter.

“There are times that I really have to yell at her, and I’d never do that in real life,” she said. “It’s really a challenge. It’s not our normal roles for each other because we don’t normally act this way, but it is fun to play a role very different from yourself.”

The title of the play comes in when Tillie enters a science fair. Her experiment explores, you guessed it, the effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds.

“At first (Beatrice) is mortified about going to the finals of the science fair,” Croff said. “When the parents go onstage with their kids, she’s afraid people will laugh at her. But it finally gets through to her that Tillie has done something to be proud of.”

Although “Gamma Rays” is a heartbreaking and raw tale about the lives of the Hunsdorfers, it does offer moments of humor and love.

“Throughout ‘Gamma Rays,’ Beatrice is pretty fractured,” Croff said. “But it’s those times where she is able to be proud and supportive, the moments where she becomes better than herself and when she becomes the mother the girls need, that are really nice.”

Croff looks forward to seeing the pair interact onstage and hopes the audience will enjoy a show featuring real family ties.

"The roles require them to get so far out of their comfort zones, but still benefit from the close family connection,” Croff said. “Zindel´s script reminds us how desperate, caring and chaotic family can be.”

“The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds”

April 18-26 8 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. $15. Ixion Theatre AA Creative Corridor, 1133 S. Washington Ave., Lansing. (517) 775-4246, ixiontheatre.com