Children of a Lesser God

A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Children of a Lesser God

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 3m

Mark Medoff

Winner of the Tony Award, the Olivier Award, and the Drama Desk Award as best play of the season, this deeply moving, beautifully written play details the romance and marriage of a sensitive but spirited deaf girl and the devoted (and hearing) young teacher whom she meets at a school for the deaf. 

Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! Three 1980 Tony Awards, including Best Play
    Winner! 1981 Laurence Olivier Award, Best New Play
    Winner! Two 1980 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding New Play

Details

Summary
After three years in the Peace Corps, James, a young speech therapist, joins the faculty of a school for the deaf, where he is to teach lip-reading. He meets Sarah, a school dropout, totally deaf from birth, and estranged both from the world of hearing and from those who would compromise to enter that world. Fluent in sign language, James tries, with little success, to help Sarah, but gradually the two fall in love and marry. At first their relationship is a happy and glowing one, as the gulf of silence between them seems to be bridged by their desire to understand each other's needs and feelings, but discord soon develops as Sarah becomes militant for the rights of the deaf and rejects any hint that she is being patronized and pitied. In the end the chasm between the worlds of sound and silence seems almost too great to cross…but love and compassion hold the hope of reconciliation, and a deeper, fuller understanding of differences that, in the final essence, can unite as well as divide.
History
Children of a Lesser God premiered on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on March 30, 1980. Directed by Gardon Davidson, the production featured Phyllis Frelich and John Rubinstein. The production won three 1980 Tony Awards, for Best Play, best Actor and Best Actress.

Media

“An extraordinary play – illuminating, consistently interesting and moving.” – Variety

Children of a Lesser God, in short and in sum, is the season’s unexpected find, a play unlike any other and immensely likable in its self-assertion.” – The New York Times

“A major event... a play of great importance, absorbing and interesting, full of love, understanding and passion.” – The New York Post

“An authentic work of art.” – The New Yorker

Photos

  • Children of a Lesser God

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Author

Mark Medoff

Now Playing