CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD to Open on Broadway This Spring

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.

One of the most celebrated American plays of the late twentieth century, Children of a Lesser God tackles the complexities of human connection and communication with insight, wit, and unyielding compassion. Its 1980 original Broadway production earned a Tony Award for Medoff (Best Play), as well as for the two leads: John Rubinstein and Phyllis Frelich. Its London transfer went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Play. The acclaimed 1986 film adaptation starring William Hurt and Marlee Matlin further solidified the title's place in the American canon and earned Matlin the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Frelich and Matlin remain, to this day, the only deaf actresses to have ever won the Tony and Academy Awards for leading roles, respectively.

"Despite having more modes of communication at our collective fingertips than ever before, true connection has never seemed so elusive," Mr. Luftig said. "It has been more than thirty-five years since this play first premiered, and its themes are as resonant today as ever."

"At its essence, this is a poignant and profound love story," Mr. Leon added. "Ever since these characters, Sarah Norman and James Leeds, first entered the public consciousness, we've been fascinated by their relationship to each other and the world around them. I think our appreciation for what Mark created with this play has only deepened with time."
Mr. Leon first directed this production of Children of a Lesser God at the Berkshire Theater Group's Fitzpatrick Main Stage during the 2017 Summer Season in an engagement that garnered rave reviews and shattered box office records.

Additional casting will be announced soon. For the most up-to-date news, visit www.childrenofalessergodbroadway.com.