The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 16, 1981, Page Page 8, Image 8
Entertainn
noy
Into'
When Children of a
Lesser God opened on
Broadway, the audience
stood and applauded
thunderously. The leading
lady did not hear a word.
Yet her inability to hear
the applause and the shouts
of "bravo" did not diminish
her joy at the opening night
success. In fact, Phyllis
Frelich, deaf since birth, had
never considered her con
Freda Norman, Phillip Re<
The
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lent ?
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r Give
World
dition a handicap--,4it was
like having brown hair; I
never questioned it."
Children of a Lesser
God is based on a true
story-Phyllis Frelich's
story--of a deaf woman
married to a man who can
hear, and presents compelling
insights into the
wnrld of thp Hpaf that
hearing playgoers probably
will be picking up for the
mm
eves and Herbert DuVal in 'Chi
Knack
rmmB ,
e Knack call it quits after only t
s insis
1 of $ !>
m wmmmy
first time.
WRITTEN BY Mark
Medoff, author of When You
Comin' Back, Red Ryder ? .
Children of a Lesser God
deals with the basic problem
of human communication:
who must make the effort to !
communicate, who must 1
reach out to whom. It deals
with what may be called
deaf pride ? whether the
hearing will learn sign
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i 1 !
Idren of a Lesser God.'
Journei
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Jnk
(\V
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wo years?
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yiffia
ence
language, or the deaf must
learn to speak.
Sarah Norman, the play's
leading character, is an
independent young deaf
u/nman whrt Hie Ha i nc Ion r
ning to speak. Jim Leeds, an
eager young speech teacher,
is determined to show Sarah
what he perceives to be the
advantages of conforming to
the world of the hearing.
Yet Sarah does not speak
because she really does have
a hard time speaking. Deaf
since birth, her ability to
reproduce spoken sound is
extremely limited. Instead,
she communicates with a
poetic fluttering of the hands
9r with facial expressions to
an increasingly frustrated
Jim. Finally, in the
climactic scene of the play,
tie pushes her to the limit in
nis attempts to get her to
speak.
When Medoff met Frelich
three and a half years ago,
he immediately perceived
sign language as inherently
theatrical. The roles of
Sarah and Jim epitomize not
Ll - r II
umy uie pruuierns 01 me
deaf, but the dramatic
struggle involved in all
luman communication.
FRELICH AND her
husband, Robert Steinberg,,
the models for the play's
leading characters, had to
dig out their deepest feelings
and responses for Medoff's
work. Still, the Sarah and
fs Into
By CLARK PEDI
Staff Writer
There comes a time dui
existence when it's time to qi
of the spectrum there is the I
who are approaching twenty >
At the other end, with the r<
new album Round Trip, th
passed away at age two.
TU/. W- 1- I '
a nc: ixiictcn oursi onto me I
1979 amid a promotional car
of Paul Stanley and Gene Si
debut album, Get the Knac
strength of "My Sharona
reached the top of the
fortunately, the entire appea
lay in the single.
Last year's follow up alb
little girls understand, show<
be very tight musically bu
more talented than any numl
bands that populate the cou
cuits. The band seemed to Ix
than nHamiotn ?v? unl ?
MIMM UUVIJUUVU lliudltlclllb (J
proven formula. The best e:
lies in the song "Baby Talks
was almost an exact reprod
Sharona" minus the rough
the few good things about "!
with a different set of lyrics.
THIS BRINGS us to Roun
than try and analyze side
falling asleep from repeatii
1
\ v v* ^ js?^i 1~
#pipP(pp
Mary Beth Barber and
Jim of the stage remain C
somehow different from the i
real-life couple. c
Steinberg maintains that
the main difference between ^
Jim and himself is Jim's
frustration. Steinberg says
he is instead fascinated with 1
rrencn s sneni, signing .
world. "There's a wonderful r
sense of discovery in r
knowing someone who's so .
different from yourself."
More than drama powerful J
enough to sweep the Tony \
awards for best play, best 1
actor, and best actress,
rtl -
unscur
^ best to deal jus
Kissing," track
? "Return of the
*ing a band's three, "Africa"
nit. At one end fun^ or dance r
it 'f l:?l
tuning oiunes, ???vi iu libit;
rears together, and finally "She
glease of their fair Steve Mille
ie Knack has songs on this
redeeming quali
nusic scene in ~ .. . ,
npaign worthy ^ back ci
mmons. Their understand, j
k, behind the !C"a<rk a'bum i;
eventually 'here is
charts. Un- ",cjr 1 c l,un?si.
1 of the album
On side two th
urn, ...but the general, the ms
ed the band to ?f better qualit
t certainly no one- Once aga
5er of the onnv Quality (or lack
ntry's bar cir- b? considered,
i nothing more three, is a fair
lugged into a "Another Lous
sample of this distantly remii
Dirty," which (lyrically, not nr
luction of "My the Devil," evol
edges (one of feeling.
Sharona") and
Although we \
last from the V
d Trip. Kather band seems to
one and risk obscurity as 01
ig myself, it's bands.
? %)
Phillip Reeves.
Children of a Lesser God,
s a step toward that
iiscovery.
Children of a Lesser
God, sponsored by the
RHUUJ Cultural Series
Committee, will play one
light only at the Township
\uditorium, Wednesday,
November 18, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at the
Travel Center (777-7130) and
he Township box office:
USC students, $5.00; public,
^10.00. Free shuttle service
-vill be provided from
Russell House to the
rownship.
9 n ?
ity
t with the highlights: "Soul
two. wnillri hp hpttpr pnHtlpH
Son of My Sharona;" cut
appears to be some sort of
nusic, but it's so annoying
n long enough to tell which; ^
i Likes the Beat," which is a
r imitation. The remaining
side have absolutely no
itiesatall.
over of ...but the little girls
t is written: "Making a
3 like making a mistake."
hope for them yet; at least
ie boys do a better job, but in
iterial which they borrow is
y than the material on side
in, because of the overall
of it) only the highlights will
4 ?0 A tv
owt-ei ureams," iracK
Beatles ape; number four,
iy Day in Paradise," is
niscent of Jimmy Buffet
tusically) and cut five, "Pay
nes a certain urban cowboy
4S
probably have not heard the
inack with Round Trip, the
have sealed their fall to
ie of a long list of one-hit