The Children's Hour
The Children's Hour
#1The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:35pm
Has this really not been on Broadway since the fifties? It's one of my favorite plays - and handled with extraordinary delicacy, especially considering the time it was written. The themes remain as relevant today as they were eighty years ago. The show is both exhilarating and heartbreaking, with great roles. I would think Roundabout would have done it by now - it seems like that kind of show. And the main trio seem like great roles for big "names" to take on. With the endless revivals of "Crucible", "View From the Bridge", and Tennessee William's "Big Three", it would be nice to see a show like this revived.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#2The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:41pm
Many other shows could be revived like Sweet Bird Of Youth & The Rose Tattoo.
Poster Emeritus
#3The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:42pm
I wish the London production a few years back transferred.
#4The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:44pm
Roxy, I really liked "Rose Tattoo" when I read it, but the Williams' shows I'd love to see revived on Broadway are "Summer and Smoke", "Orpheus Descending", and "Suddenly Last Summer". I still need to read "Sweet Bird of Youth", but Mr. Williams is my favorite playwright, so I expect it to be wonderful.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#5The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:46pm
Had a man written it, it would have been revived six times by now.
#6The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:49pm
I'm not sure about that - Hellman's "The Little Foxes" has done well in revival, but that may be because of the popular film.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#7The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:49pm
Sweet had a killer cast for the film but unfortunately they really sanitized it beyond belief.The others you mention are overdue for revivals.
Poster Emeritus
#8The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/3/16 at 11:53pm
Roxy, the same could be said for the film version of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof", which is memorable only for Taylor and Ives' performances. Surprisingly, "Suddenly Last Summer" was similarly sanitized, yet I find the film very successful.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#9The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:01am
Cat had a great cast but suffered the same fate as Sweet. Old Hollywood thought the people were not ready for it.Wonder what old Tennessee thought of the scrub jobs on his works.
Poster Emeritus
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#10The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:03am
Homosexual panic plays have gone out of fashion because, nowadays, they seem tedious. The audience is always half an hour ahead of the action. Same with Tea and Sympathy. However worthy, they are relics of the times in which they were written.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#11The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:06am
Disagree . Think any of these could work with the right cast. Many millenials may not have even read them much less seen them performed live and the roles are still meaty ones.
Poster Emeritus
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#12The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:06am
Disagree . Think any of these could work with the right cast. Many millenials may not have even read them much less seen them performed live and the roles are still meaty ones.
Poster Emeritus
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#13The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:32am
I think I'm a millenial and I have no clue what this play about, only that they had a big London revival awhile ago.
And I saw an awesome Suddenly Last Summer in Australia last year where the entire thing was shot live on film and shown on a big screen in the theater, then the entire screen rotated to reveal where they were filming it. Since it's a memory play, I thought that was quite a cool effect.
#14The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:40am
Oddly, the final scene between Karen and Martha is a very popular scene for young actresses.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#15The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:54am
I only know it through the '60's film adaptation, but I love that version and would love to see it aired out again on Broadway.
It may be true that on the whole Homosexuality isn't as taboo as it once was, but panic and fear and even disgrace for LGBT people is far from extinct and the struggle to overcome the societal stigmas is (for some) still a huge conflict, so I think it could have relevance today.
I also think placing it in a concrete setting where the action is believable would be key. Don't try to update the setting too much, even keep it set when it was written.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#16The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:03am
I don't disagree with what others have said. My point is simply that there's a reason we don't see much of those plays anymore.
#17The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 1:10am
I was lucky enough to catch the London revival, it was heart-wrenching. While yes - homosexuality isn't as scandalous at it maybe once was, I still think we need pieces like these to remind us of where we were, but also, in certain parts of America - let alone the world - I think this story could still be relevant.
#18The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:10am
missthemountains said: "I was lucky enough to catch the London revival, it was heart-wrenching. While yes - homosexuality isn't as scandalous at it maybe once was, I still think we need pieces like these to remind us of where we were, but also, in certain parts of America - let alone the world - I think this story could still be relevant.
That's an interesting point you raise, missthemountains.
Another Hellman play that has never been revived is "Toys in the Attic".
I'm not sure why but maybe it's because alot of these plays are a bit on the melodramatic side?
Some of the situations in these plays have lost their "shock value".
Some are just plain over-the-top [e.g.: Chance Wayne's castration in "Sweet Bird", The cannibalistic murder of Sebastian Venable in "Suddenly Last Summer"] but even that may not be it. It seems these plays get revived in the UK more often than here on Broadway.
"Sweet Bird" had 2 revivals in the UK. One starring Diane Lane and the other Kim Cattrall.
neonlightsxo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
#19The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:12am
Scarywarhol said: "Had a man written it, it would have been revived six times by now."
Word.
The Other One
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/08
#20The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:33am
""Sweet Bird" had 2 revivals in the UK. One starring Diane Lane and the other Kim Cattrall. "
There are at least three West End productions of "Sweet Bird" that I know of. Bacall's in 1985, Christian Slater's in 2005 and Kim Cattrall and Seth Numrich's in 2013. Diane Lane did the play opposite Finn Wittrock in 2012 at the Goodman in Chicago.
There's been talk over the years of a Broadway revival. Nicole Kidman seemed to be attached to one around ten years ago but it did not happen. Lane's production was rumored to have intended to transfer, but that never happened either.
People mistakenly view "The Children's Hour" as a homophobic play because it is not about a proud, open woman. Shirley MacLaine all but apologizes for having done the film in "The Celluloid Closet." Whether Martha is a proud lesbian or not, homophobia has a deadly effect on her, and this, which the play is actually about, stops it from being a dated piece. It deserves a good revival.
rikem
Swing Joined: 3/4/16
#21The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:38am
neonlightsxo said: "Scarywarhol said: "Had a man written it, it would have been revived six times by now."
Word.
DUMB. WORD.
#22The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 11:49am
What makes it dated is that, while a progressive play for its time, it still traffics and is driven by two tropes that are completely out of vogue: homosexual panic and the tragic queer character. The latter has stuck around for a long time and we are only finally moving past its use as a way to sympathetically depict queer characters.
While it's a work that should be kept around and has earned its place in the American theatre canon, I'm not sure- especially since there is a noticeable lack of queer female characters in major American theatrical works- it needs major revival.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#23The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 12:29pm
The Other One said: """Sweet Bird" had 2 revivals in the UK. One starring Diane Lane and the other Kim Cattrall. "
There are at least three West End productions of "Sweet Bird" that I know of. Bacall's in 1985, Christian Slater's in 2005 and Kim Cattrall and Seth Numrich's in 2013. Diane Lane did the play opposite Finn Wittrock in 2012 at the Goodman in Chicago.
Oh yes. Lane did it in Chicago and Kattrall did the West End. Thanks for the corrections
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#24The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 2:03pm
Yes, Kad, excellent points -- especially about the tragic queer character. I have a personal weakness for the play, but wonder how much it would speak to a contemporary audience today (other than a look at "how far we've come".)
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seaweedjstubbs
Broadway Star Joined: 3/21/07
#25The Children's Hour
Posted: 4/4/16 at 2:18pm
My college did The Children's Hour my senior year (2013) and I found it very engaging and not dated at all. I remember thinking it was just as powerful and important as The Crucible. Then again, I might be remembering it better than it actually was, haha.
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