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Entertainment" 'Children m mm? m a A world By CHRIS HANDAL Good plays have a certain magic; they create an lllusionary world on the stage and the best of them will draw the audience into that world. By this standard, Children of a Lesser God, the Broadway smash that came to the Township Auditorium Wednesday night, is an excellent play. With sparse scenery (a few benches and a blackboard), the play takes the audience into not one world, but two: the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf. One of the major themes in the play is the conflict between the two worlds. Sarah Norman, played by Freda Norman, rnnrofnn tr- 1 -J OU_ A. i v-pi cjwuio me ucdl WUI 1U, Ollt? pnKCSlS against the hearing and speaking world by refusing to learn to speak or read lips. James Leeds, usually played by Phillip Reeves but played by Rico Peterson Wednesday night, represents the hearing and speaking world and tries to teach Sarah to speak and read lips; instead of teaching her, however, he falls in love with her. LEEDS PROVIDES much of the humor in the play. During his meeting with Sarah she asks him bv sign language if he was a 1 imiL U f *^t* ft^ ' 111 I " ^ v V - M A M 'A'' ' j^SSSE " ~ v ^ s ??<z&bBk. .-.-v-r ----J-.,;-- '.-- BfPfr-^B* : :: ?R.\:;' ' Jnt * *!_ ? il. ? I A f A ..?.. < ine inira Airoana competition ot the serr the first-prize for their group, "The Thre< George Thorogood on Nov. 28 at the Town i Of A Lessc Few Of Us I radical in college and if he burned his draft card. He responds that he burned his RIup Cross card because he was afraid to burn his draft card. When she inquires further he tells her he was "left of liberal and right of radical." She asks where that put him and he responds that it meant he had his hair cut before he went home for the holidays because he feared his father. It is not long before the audience realizes i that Leeds jokes a little too much. Almost . every time a situation becomes strained he j tries to pop a one-liner to diffuse the tension. \ Sometimes this simply aggravates the ] problem. In many ways, Leeds is blind, . because while he works with deaf people he aoesn t really understand them, just as Sarah doesn't understand the people who speak and hear. ( The play sets up Sarah and Leeds at opposite ends of the spectrum of understanding, and between them are various characters who have different degrees of understanding of the two worlds. Lyda, a young deaf girl who has learned to speak, has an almost child-like love for Leeds. Orin Dennis, a young deaf man who also has learned to speak, wants to forrp thp hparina world to accept deaf people by challenging it through a court case. 1 .-* XI"""' l1iT'gmfr> 'r ' m ffl Ekfti'V: :. '^St . ' v.v<^<x' " ' vjKBawtedM ?IM^?BM:x. ' <&& aX?*av> WM^i&pSM^e ssHSt - ' <?*?: tester at the Golden Spur was a hotly- cont i Preps." The Preps/ along with previous Ai ship. !r uocr txp Can Under Mr. Franklin, the director of the school for the deaf, probably understands deaf people more than the other characters, but instead of showing compassion he takes a cynical view of their plight. He tells Leeds when he first starts seeing Sarah, "We don't fornicate with students, we screw them over nr>/i :r f J?"? cum 11 yuu lurgtu me umerence you'll De fired." And finally, Edna Klein, the lawyer that takes Dennis' case to court, represents all the ignorant people in a loud exaggerated manner when speaking with a deaf person; if they trouble themselves to learn any sign language at all, they learn "How are you" and "Iainfine." IT IS THROUGH these people that the audience gains insights into the world of the leaf. We learn that when Sarah was in her ens she would go to bed with her dates because sex was something she could do as veil as any girl who talks and hears. We also earn that when she was five years old her ather left home and never returned. Dennis s able to convey bitterness at the rest of the vorld through his suit and his conversations vith Leeds. With the marriage of Leeds and >arah we see limitations of both people and he failings of both worlds. 'he acting in Children of a Lesser God 3^ML, :v*; ,r ^~. \jw '.'.?. - vggaimsp^ :3. H jfTBtttrndtLi i 1111 Ml TBT < :: . %:. HLfcv.-- >;? ested affair. Above, Carl Slingmaster and C rband winners "Fat Benetar" and Denny a 0) ?lores stand was outstanding. Rico Peterson played the role of James Leeds so well that it was impossible to tell he was the understudy and not the regular actor. Freda Norman did a remarkable job of acting and though she spoke but one strained screeching line in the whole play she was able to impart her feelings and her emotions to the audience. The word "powerful" describes her performance. The impact she had on the audience was one of the most important t reasons the play was a success. Anyone who didn't see Children of a T /in n/tr *V* a OO/wl r* arAMat mama ? ?-? ? ?*?I A_. ijcooci uuu iiiioovu a vuy taic uppui luiuiy to view a Tony Award-winning play and to experience a world very few of us understand. They play was a perfect blend of warmth, humor and drama and it was well deserving of the praise and awards it has received. C7III/TIIRK IS snare** in PnlnmKin v mm* WV **? VV1UH1MIU illt Township's schedule for the next week shows this: professional wrestling and a rhythm and blues band. When a program f such as Children of a Lesser God comes to town the chance to see it should not be passed up. The USC Cultural Series sponsored the play, which was the first of five events in the 1981-82 season. The next presentation is the Frank Holder Dance Company, which will perform on Dec. 2 at T\ u:_ Lilt" lUWILSinp. ( a ?r ^HnnHnnn *? mmm&BMl suh pho,? '?y iaur? wrund lark Peden show the form that nahh*?H ind the Desenex Burgers/' will open for