''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 authority figures, Patrick is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked his ...

. 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 Stre ...

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

Synopsis

Five people in a dive bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan 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 An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

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, writer, and Figurative art, figurative painter. She is primarily known as a cult film star because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has ...

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. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...

to play Rona, and later asked

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

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 Business magnate, mogul. ...

, 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 film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...

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

Productions

Originally it premiered Off Off Broadway 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. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

, 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. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...

, 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 theatre, Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

. 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. Early life and education Loquasto was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1944. Loquas ...

, and lighting design Martin Aronstein. The cast were Barbara Montgomery (Wanda), Douglas Travis (Bartender), Don Parker (Spranger), Michael Sacks (Mark), Kaiulani Lee (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 char ...

(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-Canadian 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 ...

(Wanda),

Lindsay Crouse Lindsay Ann Crouse (born May 12, 1948) is an 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 ...

(Rona),

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy A ...

(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