Children of a Lesser GodWritten by Mark Medoff Show sponsors:
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Director's notes from the playbillChildren of A Lesser God had a huge impact on the Deaf community when it premiered. The 1979 Broadway production marked the first time Deaf issues were dealt with by Deaf actors on a national stage. When Marlee Matlin was cast in the lead opposite William Hurt for the 1986 movie, Hollywood had never before allowed someone with a disability to carry a film. I believe that Children of A Lesser God empowered the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community to step up the fight for Deaf rights. The discussions stirred up by this play across the country showed that change was possible and discrimination was not acceptable.
Mark Medoff beautifully examines the oppression of the Deaf and the often paternalistic attempts by the hearing world to help and/or cure them, using one Deaf/hearing relationship as a model. With Sarah, a housekeeper despite her many abilities, he depicted the norm for Deaf people in the 1970s. He detailed the complexity of those lives through a chorus of supporting characters – Orin and his fight for Deaf rights, Lydia and her need for acceptance. However, Medoff’s genius was in translating Deaf issues into more universal themes. Sarah and James’ relationship mirrors many marriages, where couples are polarized by communication problems, conflicting goals, clashing families and other unresolved differences.
In 1979 there were no laws to protect the Deaf and hard of hearing from job discrimination. Fortunately with the passage of the American with Disabilities Act in 1991, many Deaf and hard of hearing people were able to start finding jobs based on their true abilities. In schools for the Deaf, Deaf teachers could finally teach their own rather than work only as housekeepers. In 1998, the “Deaf President Now” protest at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., the only university in the U.S. exclusively for Deaf students, was a watershed for Deaf Rights. The students’ demand for a Deaf president sparked a national debate and led to the hiring of I. King Jordan, the first Deaf president in the university’s 140-year history. Twenty years after Children of A Lesser God brought Deaf issues to the national stage, Gallaudet University showed the country that much had changed.
But has enough changed? People who are Deaf have gone from housekeepers to teachers to university presidents within the Deaf community. However today, as state schools for the Deaf are closed and Deaf students mainstreamed into traditional public schools, Deaf teachers find they cannot move into the public education system as well. What defines a good teacher? Is it intelligence and understanding students, how they grow, how they learn and how to teach them? Or is it the ability to hear a sound? -- Sam Parker About the playWinner of the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award as best play of the 1980 Broadway season, Mark Medoff’s deeply moving, beautifully written drama was a hit with all audiences. Children of A Lesser God explores the relationship between an idealistic teacher of the Deaf, James Leeds, and Sarah Norman, the Deaf woman with whom he falls in love and marries.
At first their relationship is a happy one, as the gulf between them seems bridged by their desire to understand each other’s needs and feelings. Discord develops when Sarah begins to fight for Deaf rights and finds herself torn between two worlds. In the end, the chasm between sound and silence seems almost too great to cross. Is the couple’s love and commitment to each other enough for them to reach a fuller understanding of those differences that can unite as well as divide?
As a chronicle of a relationship, Children of A Lesser God is strongly grounded in reality. Mark Medoff was inspired to write the play in the late 1970’s after meeting a Deaf/hearing couple himself – the renowned Deaf actress Phyllis Frelich and her husband Robert Steinberg. He was also impressed by a Los Angeles production of Equus, in which Deaf actors played all the roles and signed the lines, while hearing actors spoke from the side. He found sign language inherently theatrical and that the language issues between the Deaf and hearing highlighted, on a smaller scale, universal human communication problems.
Because he was then teaching at New Mexico State University, Medoff gathered his ideas, Ms. Frelich, Mr. Steinberg and some of the Equus cast together there to develop his script. In under two years his show traveled from workshop productions to the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and finally to Broadway. The universal power of Medoff’s script and the team that brought it to life can be measured by the four Tony Awards the show won (including Best Actress for Ms. Frelich) and the major motion picture that followed, which received four Oscar nominations and won then-newcomer Marlee Matlin the Oscar for Best Actress. Director's musings of RLT's productionChildren of A Lesser God was a mammoth undertaking. Casting was difficult due to the characters written in the script. Sarah Norman was a 26-year-old Deaf woman whose language was American Sign Language. James Leeds was a speech teacher that signed fluently and provided the spoken word for Sarah’s lines to the audience. In addition to the demands of those two characters Mark Medoff also wrote two additional Deaf characters that needed to sign fluently and speak clearly.
Where in Raleigh was I going to be able to find these actors with the skills to handle the roles? This is were serendipity came to my rescue. Out of the few actors that came to auditions I was able to cast in the show only two actors who could already sign. This meant long hours of preparation and signing lessons would need to be taught. Fortunately those that were cast were incredibly dedicated actors and went above and beyond to learn sign and their lines.
About two weeks into the rehearsal process, the lead actor withdrew from the role of James Leeds and recasting the role became the main focus. Many talented actors came out for the second audition to help out with casting. Even the Stage Manager mentioned an interest in auditioning for the lead role. Strangely enough I remember Adam Gsegner the Stage Manager making the comment that the show should be called “Children of A Lesser GOD HELP US!” Much to my surprise and his he was cast in the role of James, which meant we needed a new Stage Manager. Thank God for Sherry Derry who stepped in while the search began for a replacement. And Hallelujah we found one!!! Ellen Landau came to our rescue.
Rehearsal proceeded and this small cast of relatively inexperienced actors began to tackle this mammoth play. Day by day each actor knew the signs, knew their lines, developed trust and we all could feel the task breaking down into smaller bits. Rehearsals were an incredible joy and creativity was flowing. Everyone was so open, willing, and sensitive to playing Deaf characters realistically. But could we do it? Could it be believable that hearing actors could convince a hearing or Deaf audience they were Deaf?
Well the test came when we had a completely Deaf audience of sixty-five. The nerves were on edge. The signing was being practiced backstage while there was a sense of complete calm on stage as these actors performed their roles. It worked!!!! Many of the Deaf audience members actually thought the actors were Deaf!!! Our mammoth task was accomplished. We were believable, we were funny, and we touched people. It was worth it all those improvisations of Jerry Springer, discussions of oppression, and countless runs working minute moments. I am extremely proud of this production and everyone involved. -- Sam Parker Members of the cast(in order of appearance) Sarah Norman: Whitney Griffin Boreiko Production crewDirector: Sam Parker Box Office Volunteers: Joe Ali, Harvey Bumgardner, Patsy Clarke, Deanna Eckert, Chuck Goins, Lynn Hardison, Martha Noyes, Pats Palmer, Edythe Stanislaw, Hope Steinman, Marian Susann Concessions Crew: Amy Bartley, Judy Dove, Kent Dove, Jama DiSorbo, Roni Evans, Anne Monte, Sue Nero, Sue Scott, Natasha Strawn Dressers Crew: Marie Berry (Chief), Ruth Berry, Carmen Carroll, Catherine Lambe, Alana Sealy House Managers Crew: Ruth Bromer, Keith Bugner, Deanna Eckert, Lynn Freeman, Cynthia Gerry, Barbette Hunter, Lilo Miles, Chris Otteni, Cathy Sprankle, Judi Wilkinson Light Crew: Gerrie Kouri (Chief), Amy Bartley, Dee Bitner, David Page, Kristin Post Light Hang/Focus: Sam Moryoussef, Stephen McAdams, Michelle Sorensen, Todd Sorensen, David Wilk Public Relations Crew: Marlys Akin, Meredith Babb, Carolyn Busse, Ming-Wai Farrell, Natasha Strawn, David Wilkinson Set Construction Crew: Meredith Babb, Michael Bachman, Amy Bartley, Ed Bodell, Whitney Griffin Boreiko, Mr. & Mrs. Noel Butzke, Missy Dapper, Ann Meshauw Donnelly, Emilie Edwards, Hillary Franklin, Adam Gsegner, Joe Kolb, Richard Mancini, Alexander B. McLin, Sam Parker, John Price, Dick Shirk, Shauna M. Wheeler Sound Crew: Barbara Corbin & Jennifer Root (Chiefs), Jeff Beaman, Nick Blinn, Adam Budlong, Paul Chapman, Josh Hobgon, Judy Keyes Special Thanks To: Arts Access for audio description; Julianne Gold Brunson; Capstone Production Group for Web hosting; Diane and Mike Hargrove at Hair Affair, Inc.; Luna Designs for Web site design and maintenance; Piccola Italia Pizza & Restaurant; PIP Printing; Alan Poe; Jimmy Miller; Phillip Boone of Boone Hearing Aid Center; Carmen Mandley. You are here: Photo home > 2003-2004 Yearbook > Children of a Lesser God |
