''Kennedy's Children'' is a 1973 play written by

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparke ...

. It originally opened 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 ...

on November 3, 1975, and closed on January 4, 1976.

Synopsis

Five people in a dive bar in the Lower East Side all contemplate their life ten years after John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Background

The soldier character, Mark, was written originally by Patrick for his Off-Broadway play in 1970 "A Bad Place to Get Your Head". For the original cast,

Mary Woronov Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, published author and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a " cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared ...

was originally wanted for Carla. They begged

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

to play Rona, and later asked Shirley MacLaine to play Carla, who after seeing the show, approached Patrick in the lobby, shook him, and said "Why didn't you make me play Carla?".

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Tony ...

, who stated "only I am Carla", tried to pull him out of cab to convince him, but his boyfriend at the time won the tug-of-war. Patrick stated he regretted the casting of the replacement company, they hired

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

for the Chicago cast only, and she stated she didn't have to learn lines just improvise.

Productions

Originally it premiered

Off Off Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

at the Clark Center for Performing Arts in 1973, starred Don Parker, and ran for three hours and forty minutes. With no producer, it wasn't staged fully for another year in 1974 in London's,

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. It is the second oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2021, Mark Ravenhill became Artistic Director and the theatre focusses on producing LGBTQ ...

, with Parker portraying Spranger and directed by

Clive Donner Clive Stanley Donner (21 January 1926 – 6 September 2010)Ronald Berganbr>Obituary: Clive Donner ''The Guardian'', 7 September 2010 was a British film director who was part of the British New Wave, directing films such as ''The Caretaker'' ...

. It premiered on October 30, 1974, and eventually transferred to

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...

, becoming the first "fringe" play to transfer to the West End. It premiered on November 3, 1975 at the

John Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the Golden Theatre was ...

. It was directed by Clive Donner, design

Santo Loquasto Santo Richard Loquasto (born July 26, 1944) is an American production designer, scenic designer, and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. His work has included the films ''Big'', ''Radio Days'', '' Cafe Society'', ''Blue Jasmine'', ''D ...

, and lighting design

Martin Aronstein Martin Aronstein (November 2, 1936 – May 3, 2002) was an American lighting designer whose Broadway career spanned thirty-six years. Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Aronstein attended Queens College in Flushing, New York. In 1957, following ...

. The cast were Barbara Montgomery (Wanda), Douglas Travis (Bartender), Don Parker (Spranger),

Michael Sacks Michael Sacks (born September 11, 1948 in New York City) is an American actor and technology industry executive who played the role of Billy Pilgrim in George Roy Hill's '' Slaughterhouse Five'' (1972). Biography Sacks has a Bachelor of Arts in ...

(Mark),

Kaiulani Lee Kaiulani Lee is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Rachel Carson in both the film and stage version of ''A Sense of Wonder'', which she also wrote. Career Lee is also a well-known stage, television, and film actress. She ...

(Rona), and

Shirley Knight Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...

(Carla). It was later made into a TV film in 1982, with Merrill Brockway &

Marshall W. Mason Marshall W. Mason (born February 24, 1940) is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie ...

directing, starring

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 19 ...

(Wanda),

Lindsay Crouse Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...

(Rona),

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...

(Mark), Charles Harper (Sparger), and

(Carla).

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

''Kennedy's Children'' at the Internet Broadway database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy's Children 1973 plays American plays adapted into films Broadway plays Off-Broadway plays Plays set in New York City Plays set in the 1970s West End plays Works about the assassination of John F. Kennedy