Some plays can get away with merely good actors. Other plays absolutely require great actors, or they simply fall flat. Hamlet can’t be weak. Blanche Dubois must have pith. “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” by Paul Zindel, falls into the latter category. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is the story of a dysfunctional family headed by Beatrice, an embittered single mother of teen daughters. If Beatrice isn’t depicted powerfully, wretchedly and yet sympathetically, the show simply crashes.

A.J. Mooney keeps that from happening in the Ten Bucks Theatre Company’s current production of “Gamma Rays” running through Oct. 24 at the Brewer Middle School. Mooney is brawny, hard-bitten, driven and raw, but she also reveals Beatrice’s sense of impotence and lack of self-esteem. Early in life, Beatrice had spark and vigor, and Mooney allows those qualities to flicker from time to time. But the often drunken Beatrice is disappointed by life. She hates it, and it hates her. And Mooney develops the entire range with disarming subtlety and magnetism.

By the end of the brutal first act, much of which is delivered by Beatrice, the audience is so

wracked with emotion and involved with the characters, there’s no time to process anything other than a desire to know the outcome of the story.

Despite the trauma of these mother-daughter relationships – Zindel, who died last year, wrote award-winning books for young readers – the audience is in good hands with Mooney and her stage family of Lily Christian as the older, pretty daughter, Ruth, and Jenny Bragdon as the introverted brainiac, Tillie. Director Julie Lisnet plays a big role here, too, staging the play with deft rhythm as well as humor. At the final dress rehearsal last week, Lisnet, a founder of Ten Bucks, said she chose the play because she wanted to give meaty roles to women. (All five cast members are women.) She also performed in the play years ago as a student at the University of Maine. It stayed with her imaginatively, and when Mooney agreed to take the role of Beatrice, Lisnet knew she had a show.

Indeed she does. And it’s not just because of Mooney. Christian, whose character suffers from a kind of post-traumatic-stress version of nervous convulsions, reaches new acting heights with this performance. Her Ruth blows through the high and low emotions of normal adolescents, but she also adds the texture of Ruth’s fragile inner world. Anyone from a truly dysfunctional family will understand her transitions from anger to conciliation. But when Ruth finally “goes,” Christian cuts loose. Her final scene is frightening, but, thankfully, not overdone. To Lisnet’s credit, the scene is long enough to be shocking and short enough to be tolerable.

Jenny Bragdon, who recently completed a production of “Dracula” in Bangor, turns in another fine performance as the nerdy but charming Tillie, a science geek with a dream world as big as the universe. It is from her science-fair experiment with radiated marigold seeds that the play takes its name. In her own family, of course, the effect of emotional radiation shapes each member with mutations that either stunt or aid survival. As the Cinderella heart of this play, Tillie turns out to be the nurtured flower.

Bradgon plays her with quiet certainty and gentle spirit. As with the rest of the ensemble, she never overworks her lines or actions, and the result is a skillfully nuanced performance. Not many actors could seamlessly share the stage with a live bunny rabbit – one of the props in the story – and keep the scene under control. But Bragdon constantly embodies her character, whether she’s stroking her pet or revealing her private aspirations.

Hillary Roberts has spunk in a cameo role at the science fair, and Marcia Douglas plays Nanny, a mute and blind elderly boarder under Beatrice’s care. Douglas has no lines, but her performance is significant and muscular.

Chez Cherry has built a realistic retro set of a house forgotten by time. The play was first produced in New York City in 1970, and this set, as well as incidental music by Joni Mitchell, trips back through those years.

“Gamma Rays” may not be to everyone’s tastes. It’s not uplifting. It’s not fun – despite witty moments. Some may find it too tormenting, despairing or emotionally pounding. But it’s a must-see production for anyone who can take the heat. Bring tissues.

Ten Bucks Theatre Company will present “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” at 8 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 and 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Brewer Middle School auditorium, 5 Somerset St. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. For information, call 884-1030 or visit www.tenbuckstheatre.com.