Children Of A Lesser God
by Mark Medoff

Name: Children Of A Lesser God
Brand: Mark Medoff
SKU: 9780822202035
Rating: 4 (1857 reviews)

BroadwayWest End

Children Of A Lesser God Book Cover — Children Of A Lesser God Cover

Highlights

Small Cast

Female

Male

120 mins1970sBare Stage/Simple SetContemporary Costumes/Street ClothesAmerican

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk AwardOlivier AwardTony Award

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

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the emotional depth and cultural significance of the play about a deaf woman's experiences and struggles for acceptance. While many prefer the live performance over the written format, they acknowledge its powerful themes and messages. Overall, it's seen as a moving story that resonates with a wide audience despite some critiques of character development.

Culturally important and vitalBeautiful, lyrical, movingThought-provoking themesGreat story and charactersCharacters can feel one-dimensionalBest experienced live or on screen

Synopsis

A passionate love develops between a special education teacher and his beautiful deaf student.

Press Reviews

"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

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Sarah Norman Mid-twenties. Deaf from birth.	—	—	Mid-twenties. Deaf from birth.
Orin Dennis In his twenties. Has some residual hearing; a lip reader.	male	—	In his twenties. Has some residual hearing; a lip reader.
Mrs. Norman Sarah’s mother.	female	—	Sarah’s mother.
Mr. Franklin Anywhere from his early thirties to his mid-forties. The Supervising Teacher at the Deaf School.	male	—	Anywhere from his early thirties to his mid-forties. The Supervising Teacher at the Deaf School.
Lydia In her late teens. Has some residual hearing; a lip reader.	female	—	In her late teens. Has some residual hearing; a lip reader.
Edna Klein Thirty to forty. A lawyer.In any professional production of this play, the roles of Sarah, Orin and Lydia must be performed by Deaf or hearing impaired actors.	—	—	Thirty to forty. A lawyer.In any professional production of this play, the roles of Sarah, Orin and Lydia must be performed by Deaf or hearing impaired actors.
James Leeds Thirty-ish. A speech teacher at a State School for the Deaf.	—	—	Thirty-ish. A speech teacher at a State School for the Deaf.