''Children of a Lesser God'' is a play by

Mark Medoff Mark Medoff (March 18, 1940 – April 23, 2019) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor. His play '' Children of a Lesser God'' received both the Tony Award and the Olivier Award The Laurence ...

, focusing on the conflicted professional and romantic relationship between Sarah Norman, a

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

student, and her former teacher, James Leeds. It premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in 1979, was produced on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1980 and in the West End in 1981. It won the 1980

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first yea ...

Background

The play was specially written for the deaf actress Phyllis Frelich, based to some extent on her relationship with her husband Robert Steinberg. It was originally developed from workshops and showcased at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

, with Frelich and Steinberg in the lead roles. It was seen by Gordon Davidson, Director of the Mark Taper Forum in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, who insisted that the male role needed to be played by a more experienced professional actor. The title comes from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's '' Idylls of the King'': "For why is all around us here / As if some lesser god had made the world".

Historical casting

Productions

Following a highly successful run at the Mark Taper Forum in

, the

production, directed by Gordon Davidson, opened on March 30, 1980, at the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known a ...

, where it ran for 887 performances. The cast included Phyllis Frelich as Sarah and

John Rubinstein John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the dau ...

as James.

David Ackroyd David Ackroyd (born May 30, 1940) is an American actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as ''The Secret Storm'' and '' Another World''. Early life On May 30, 1940, Ackroyd was born in East Orange, New Jersey; he moved to Way ...

later replaced Rubinstein. Deaf actress Elizabeth Quinn later replaced Frelich, and

Linda Bove Linda Bove Waterstreet (born November 30, 1945) is an American actress who performed as (a fictionalized version of) herself in the PBS children's series ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first deaf actress to be part of the pro ...

, another deaf actress, known to television audiences for her more-than-30-year-long run on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'', had a successful turn in the role as well. In 1981, the West End production ran originally at the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...

, then at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: ;People by given name *Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator ;People by surname: *A. S. Albery, British politician *Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director ...

, garnering three

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

. The production starred

Trevor Eve Trevor John Eve (born 1 July 1951) is an English film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series ''Shoestring'' and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC televi ...

and Elizabeth Quinn. Deaf actors from the UK were understudies including Jean St Clair, Sarah Scott and Terry Ruane. A Broadway revival opened on April 11, 2018, at Studio 54, directed by

Kenny Leon Kenny Leon is an American director, producer, actor, and author, notable for his work on Broadway, on television, and in regional theater. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''A Raisin in the Sun''. Career He gain ...

and starring

Joshua Jackson Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in '' Mighty Ducks'', as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in t ...

, Lauren Ridloff, John McGinty and Anthony Edwards.

Film adaptation

In 1986, Medoff adapted the play for film directed by

Randa Haines Randa Jo Haines (born February 20, 1945, in Los Angeles) is a film and television director and producer. Haines started her career as a script supervisor on several low-budget features in the 1970s, including '' Let's Scare Jessica to Death'' ...

, starring

Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...

and

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 1980

Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a Broadway p ...

* 1980

* 1980 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor-

* 1980 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play * 1981 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

Original Broadway production

Original West End production

2018 Broadway revival

References

* *

External links

* {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Children of a Lesser God'' , list = {{DramaDesk Play 1975–2000 {{OlivierAward Play 1976–2000 {{TonyAwardBestPlay 1976-2000 1980 plays Broadway plays Plays by Mark Medoff Plays and musicals about disability Deaf culture Drama Desk Award-winning plays Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays Tony Award-winning plays American plays adapted into films