Child's Play is a stage play written by Robert Marasco. It opened on Broadway on 12 February 1970 at the Royale Theatre and ran for 342 performances, closing on 12 December. The play was produced by David Merrick and directed by Joseph Hardy, with settings by Jo Mielziner. The leading roles were taken by Pat Hingle, Fritz Weaver and Ken Howard.
Marasco's only produced play, he initially wrote the script in 1966 under the title The Dark. The atmosphere of the play, although not the plot, was derived from Marasco's experiences as a teacher of Latin and Greek at Regis High School, a highly regarded Jesuit school in Manhattan.
The play was presented in London's West End in 1971, opening at the Queen's Theatre on 16 March. As on Broadway, the director and designer were, respectively, Hardy and Mielziner, with Laurence Harvey, Rupert Davies and Derek Fowlds in the cast.
In 1972, Sidney Lumet directed a screen adaptation under the same title, starring James Mason, Robert Preston and Beau Bridges.
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Synopsis
The play centers on the rivalry between two faculty members at St. Charles, an exclusive Roman Catholic boarding school for boys. Joe Dobbs is an easy-going, well-liked English teacher, while Latin and Greek instructor Jerome Malley is feared and hated by his students for his strict disciplinary methods. Malley is caring for his dying mother, and his stress is exacerbated by a series of threatening phone calls and written notes he receives. He is certain Dobbs is the source, but his caustic personality prevents him from winning any sympathy or support. Into the fray comes Paul Reese, a former student who has been hired to teach PE, and he soon finds his loyalty torn between the friendly Dobbs and Malley, as he becomes increasingly aware of the latter's personal torments. Compounding his situation is the realization that the unbridled violence practiced by the students may be the result of demonic possession.
Plot
Joe Dobbs is speaking to McArdle, one of his students, who was caught calling Jerome Malley in the middle of the night and who is trying to get Dobbs to intervene on his behalf. Dobbs makes no promises to McArdle and the latter heads to the headmaster for a meeting. Paul Reese, an alumnus of the school, now teaching history and PE, leaves the faculty room to act as a referee for a basketball game played by the boys. As Reese is heading toward the gym, he runs into Fr. Griffin, who tells him to keep an eye on the boys because they have been having disciplinary issues lately.
Back in the faculty room, Dobbs confronts Reese about McArdle and implores him to go easy on him. After Malley leaves, Fr. Griffin asks Dobbs to see if he can understand why the boys have been violent (as they have had more fights and injuries in the past few weeks than ever) since he and the headmaster can't seem to get anything out of the students. They are hoping that Dobbs, the "grand old man" of the faculty, can get the students to cooperate. Fr. Griffin leaves to patrol the halls when Malley returns, and Malley and Dobbs talk about McArdle's punishment, which is an indefinite suspension. During this conversation, Malley says all the students hate him because Dobbs is setting them against him, a charge which Dobbs vehemently denies. It is at this time that Reese comes running into the room carrying a bloody Freddy Banks and screaming for help.
A couple of hours later, Dobbs and Fr. Griffin return from the hospital and meet with Reese and Fr. Mozian, the headmaster. As a result of the incident, Freddy loses his eye, and his mother takes him out of the school, accusing the administration of being negligent in their duties. Fr. Mozian and Fr. Griffin interrogate Reese on what happened: Reese claims that the boys got in a circle around Freddy while playing dodgeball and one of them threw the ball full force at Freddy from close range.
Freddy did nothing to protect himself; then the boys started to beat up Freddy, and once again Freddy did nothing to protect himself. Reese claims that the seniors tried to hold him and that he had to actually fight his way to Freddy, and that Freddy actually tried to get away from him. After the meeting, Fr. Mozian confronts Malley about his strict methods, imploring him to lighten up on the boys. As proof of how much the students hate him, Fr. Mozian shows Malley an unflattering note that he caught students passing in class about Malley, who claims Dobbs wrote the note and that he is manipulating everybody in the school against him.
Opening night cast
Pat Hingle ... Joseph Dobbs
Fritz Weaver ... Jerome Malley
Ken Howard ... Paul Reese
David Rounds ... Father George Penny
Peter MacLean ... Father William Griffin
Michael McGuire ... Father Mozian
Lloyd Kramer ... McArdle
Bryant Fraser ... Carre
John Handy ... Travis
Robbie Reed ... Banks
Ron Martin ... Wilson
Mark Hall ... Jennings
Patrick Shea...Shea
Awards and nominations
Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
Tony Award for Best Actor in Play (Fritz Weaver, winner)
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Ken Howard, winner)
Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner, winner)
Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (Jo Mielziner, winner)
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (Joseph Hardy, winner)
Theatre World Award (David Rounds, winner)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (Jo Mielziner, winner)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance (Fritz Weaver, winner)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director (Joseph Hardy, winner)