‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Lauren Ridloff & Joshua Jackson. Photo: Matthew Murphy

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
Written by Mark Medoff
Directed by Kenny Leon
Studio 54
54 West 54th Street, 
(212-239-6200)
www.childrenoflessergodbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Mark Medoff’s 1980 drama Children of a Lesser God is still a riveting show despite being slightly dated. In a 21st century world of many technological advances and progress in the arts for the challenged (think of the American Sign Language version of Spring Awakening on Broadway by Deaf West in 2015), Mr. Medoff’s depiction of the hearing impaired now seems anachronistic. Regardless, there is still much to admire in this ambitious yet unevenly paced production.

A teacher, James Leeds (Joshua Jackson), starts working at a state school for the deaf and meets custodian Sarah Norman (Lauren Ridloff), a 26-year-old who communicates solely in American Sign Language (ASL). She’s not interested in learning to read lips and to speak to fit in with the “hearing” community, and she feels it isn’t right for teachers to force the deaf to change. Sparks fly between James and Sarah. Orin Dennis (John McGinty), a deaf man who speaks and reads lips, warns Sarah that a romance between her and James ultimately won’t work. When they become engaged, school headmaster Mr. Franklin (Anthony Edwards) tells James that marriage is not a good idea.

What makes the story so engrossing is the manner in which James and Sarah interact, and Sarah repeatedly explaining her conviction that the deaf have a say in what their role should be in society. For this revival, supertitles displaying the dialogue are projected above the stage even though James explains and interprets everything Sarah says in ASL. The purpose and effect of the supertitles is debatable as they become quite distracting at times.

Fortunately, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Ridloff give outstanding performances. Mr. Jackson has the difficult task of playing both a charming romantic character and also being an actor interpreting everything Sarah says, but he does both beautifully.

Ms. Ridloff’s portrayal of Sarah is even more demanding since she can only emote on stage through ASL, facial expressions and body language, but we always feel her power and understand how problematic her life is, and her cathartic moment in the play when she finally speaks is deeply moving.

The supporting cast members are all first rate, especially John McGinty as Orin. Mr. McGinty’s depiction of Orin’s frustration and his nonstop pleas to Sarah to be true to the deaf community ring with truth.

Kenny Leon’s scattershot direction is often cumbersome. At times, especially in Act II, the narrative seems to be all over the place. Particularly frustrating is making sense of a subplot–in which Orin wants to bring a lawsuit against the school–because the details and resolution seem unclear. The final scenes seem hurried and thrust upon the audience in an ambiguous fashion. Mr. Leon could have improved the pacing of the material and brought more focus to the ending.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 16, 2018
Reviewed at press performance on April 15, 2018

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD”: Joshua Jackson & Lauren Ridloff. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: John McGinty, Julee Cerda, Lauren Ridloff. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Lauren Ridloff & Kecia Lewis. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Lauren Ridloff & Joshua Jackson. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Joshua Jackson (left) & Lauren Ridloff (far right) in ‘Children of a Lesser God.’ Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Lauren Ridloff & Joshua Jackson. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD’: Lauren Ridloff, Joshua Jackson & Treshelle Edmond. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Children of a Lesser God’ back on Broadway appeared first on StageZine.

‘SPRING AWAKENING”: Katie Boeck (left) providing vocals for Sandra Mae Frank in the American Sign Language revival of the Tony-winning musical. Photo: Joan Marcus

SPRING AWAKENING
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Book & lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Choreography by Spencer Lift
Directed by Michael Arden
Through January 24, 2016
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
256 West 47th Street
(888-250-2929), http://www.springawakeningthemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

When Spring Awakening debuted on Broadway nine years ago in 2006, it was a well-crafted, ambitious musical adaptation from Frank Wedekind’s play about misunderstood teens in 1891 Germany and the clashes with their uptight, Victorian-era parents, with an outstanding score by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. The show won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. Fast forward to nearly a decade later. This is no ordinary revival as the show has been completely reinvented by director Michael Arden and Deaf West Theatre, featuring actors using American Sign Language, including Oscar winner Marlee Matlin. It is not really a gimmick, but is a totally new interpretation. However, it would be remiss to not point out that some of the original drama and intensity, performed by both deaf and hearing actors, is lost in translation here.

The plot is emotionally packed indeed, centering on sexually repressed teens in late 19th century Germany and dealing with such then-taboo topics as sex education, teen sex and pregnancy, wet dreams, masturbation, abortion, child abuse, etc.

It can be quite moving to watch American Sign Language in the theater, but also a hindrance when seeing it used in a musical. Changing tempos in a song or trying to enact a dramatic moment—and this piece has plenty of such moments—it breaks up the tension. Although it usually works here, it can be frustrating for mass Broadway audiences trying to understand the structure of the musical while reading projected signs and not knowing American Sign Language symbols. The narrative, even in the 2006 production, was hard to follow at times, and that’s certainly the case here because watching and listening to one actor signing while another speaks or sings takes some getting used to for non-deaf audiences.

We see Wendla (charming and sweetly played by Sandra Mae Frank) interpreting the lyrics in American Sign Language to “Mama Who Bore Me,” while Katie Boeck sings and plays the guitar. Look at the Playbill and you’ll notice that for nearly every deaf actor, there is another listed as “Voice of” who also plays guitar or piano. However, one of the show’s standouts is Austin P. McKenzie as Melchior (Wendla’s boyfriend), and he signs, sings and speaks with conviction.

A few scenes are done solely in American Sign Language, with subtitles projected onto a giant screen. This multimedia effect is innovative, but again dilutes some of the story’s dramatic tension for non-deaf audiences.

The show features two big name actors. Marlee Matlin looks gorgeous and brings a lot of raw intensity to the multiple roles of Frau Gabor, Frau Bessell and Frau Schmidt, but most of her talents seem underutilized here. Camryn Mannheim, who also takes on multiple roles and sometimes acts as Ms. Matlin’s voice, is powerful, but her German accent as Wendla’s mother, among other characters, comes off exaggerated at times and, thus, difficult to understand. A noteworthy performance is given by Krysta Rodriguez as the young outcast Ilse.

Michael Arden’s direction and vision are wonderfully executed. However, in the 2006 production, each character was uniquely distinct and identifiable. In this revival, with so many actors (and others doing their voices), the characters are more undistinguishable and the show’s overall impact is less effective.

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Marlee Matlin. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’ (left to right) Katie Boeck (back), Sandra Mae Frank & Camryn Mannheim. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: (seated, left to right) Joshua Castille, Austin P. McKenzie & Daniel N. Durant; (top row, left to right) Alex Wyse, Miles Barbee & Andy Mientus. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie & Patrick Page. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Daniel N. Durant, Austin P. McKenzie & Alex Boniello. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: (counter-clockwise from bottom left): Treshelle Edmond, Ali Stroker, Amelia Hensley, Lauren Luiz, Kathryn Gallagher, Krysta Rodriguez & Alexandra Winter. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING” Daniel N. Durant & Krysta Rodriguez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Treshelle Edmond. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Russell Harvard & Daniel N. Durant. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 5, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 3, 2015

The post ‘Spring Awakening’ Returns to Broadway appeared first on StageZine.