CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD to Play Studio 54 This Spring

[Cfried]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 1:07pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/CHILDREN-OF-A-LESSER-GOD-to-Open-on-Broadway-This-Spring-20170815-facebook

Producer Hal Luftig announced today that Mark Medoff's landmark play, Children of a Lesser God, will return to Broadway this spring for the first time since its Tony Award-winning premiere production. Starring Joshua Jackson and introducing Lauren Ridloff, both making their Broadway debuts, and directed by Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon, Children of a Lesser God will begin performances at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street) on Thursday, March 22nd. Opening night is set for Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 1:23pm

I can't exactly see this one becoming a hit...

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 1:30pm

Well now that's one less slot for Roundabout to fill in their non-existent Broadway season.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 1:43pm

This is one of my favorite plays.  I have a former student work on this earlier this summer, she thought it was phenomenal.

 

I'll purchase tix.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:15pm

Did your student say what she liked about it?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:22pm

I saw the production at BSC. It's superb: well acted, expertly directed, feels very relevant. Lauren Roloff is giving a star-is-born kind of performance. You can't take your eyes off her.

For the record, Roundabout is co-producing, and this will be part of their subscription season.

[SharksVsJets]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:30pm

I loved this back in 1980. I have no ideas if the issues are still the same.

[wonkit]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:39pm

Joshua Jackson should be a draw.

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:52pm

wonkit said: "Joshua Jackson should be a draw.

I'm not so sure. I think he's great but he's not an A-lister. The title might be a draw, though.

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:54pm

I had pretty mixed feelings about the film, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays onstage, especially with the strong word-of-mouth for the production. I'm wondering, though, if this will end up being next season's "Six Degrees of Separation." i.e "play from a few decades ago, with an arguably more famous film adaptation, gets a somewhat unneeded revival starring mid-level celebrities." And we know how that went. Still, I'll keep an open mind! 

As a sidenote - will Lauren Ridloff be the first POC with a disability to play a leading role on Broadway? I know that's a lot of qualifiers, but it's still an interesting thing to take note of if it is true. 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:58pm

Would telling me where the title of this story comes from, result in a spoiler?

[wonkit]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 2:59pm

little_sally  - you're right. He's not an A-lister, and it is risky to make your debut in a small-cast straight play, but he is known to TV fans from DAWSON'S CREEK (a century ago?) and THE AFFAIR.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 3:03pm

As a sidenote - will Lauren Ridloff be the first POC with a disability to play a leading role on Broadway? I know that's a lot of qualifiers, but it's still an interesting thing to take note of if it is true. 

Treshelle Edmond, a deaf woman of color, appeared in the Spring Awakening revival.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 3:15pm

AC126748 said: "Treshelle Edmond, a deaf woman of color, appeared in the Spring Awakening revival."

 

Yes, but in a LEADING role, I said. (not to dismiss Ms. Edmond's accomplishments) 

 

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 3:17pm

Oh sorry, I completely missed that detail. In that respect, I don't know, but probably. The list of performers with disabilities who've made it to Broadway is quite smaller, and the list of performers of color with disabilities is smaller.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 3:29pm

Joshua Jackson was a lead in Fringe. Fringe has a RABID fan base. I don't think that makes him a major name and I'm not sure if that even makes him a minor draw... but I couldn't let the thread go on any longer without mentioning Fringe. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 3:33pm

AC126748 said: "For the record, Roundabout is co-producing, and this will be part of their subscription season."

If Roundabout is co-producing, then the production probably shouldn't be as concerned with turning a profit.

[Theater'sBestFriend]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:15pm

Would telling me where the title of this story comes from, result in a spoiler?

From a line in a Tennyson poem. The play involves deaf and hearing people, and uses signed and spoken language. It deals with difference and resulting (mis)perceptions of otherness, disability, and inferiority. 

[perfectliar]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:17pm

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Would telling me where the title of this story comes from, result in a spoiler?"

I don't really think spoilers are a thing for material that is nearly 40 years old, but no... it's adapted from a line from Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," where King Arthur sees failures and betrayals all around him and questions his belief in God.

Edit: Theater'sBestFriend beat me to it.

Updated On: 8/15/17 at 04:17 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:20pm

If Knightly didn't make her show a hit, I can't imagine Joshua Jackson will. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:41pm

RippedMan said: "If Knightly didn't make her show a hit, I can't imagine Joshua Jackson will. 

That's exactly what I thought.

 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:41pm

Not to jump the gun here, but this feels like a similar situation to the recent revivals of SIX DEGREES and THE HEIDI CHRONICLES: plays of the 80s with familiar names attached but the producers are overestimating the drawing power of the names.

(M. BUTTERFLY could end up in this category also, unless it gets rapturous reviews -- Clive Owen in OLD TIMES ran 10 weeks and wasn't exactly a sold-out hit for the Roundabout.)

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:51pm

SomethingPeculiar said: "Not to jump the gun here, but this feels like a similar situation to the recent revivals of SIX DEGREES" 

 

I said the same thing above! 

 

[wonkit]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:55pm

Clive Owen couldn't make OLD TIMES a hit because it was an awful production of a difficult play. No actor can work that kind of miracle.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 8/15/17 at 4:57pm

neonlightsxo said: "Well now that's one less slot for Roundabout to fill in their non-existent Broadway season"

Hits the nail on the head.

Seriously, what are they doing over there? Are they still two shows short?

Updated On: 8/17/17 at 04:57 PM