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42-522: When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? was adapted into a film with a screenplay by Medoff in 1979. Medoff was born on March 18, 1940, in Mount Carmel, Illinois , to a Jewish family, the son of Thelma Irene (Butt), a psychologist, and Lawrence R. Medoff, a physician. He was raised in Miami Beach, Florida , and graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School . Medoff received his Bachelor of Arts degree from

84-812: A Reynolds Eminent Scholar in the School of Theatre. In the spring semester of 2008 he joined the faculty of the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance as Distinguished Lecturer. He was the winner of the Kennedy Center Medallion for Excellence in Education and Artistic Achievement, given periodically to professionals in theater who also teach and mentor students. Medoff was married to second wife Stephanie Thorne from 1972 until his death in 2019; they had three daughters. In April 2019, he entered hospice care after battling cancer in his later years and suffering

126-545: A crime involving a 17-year-old boy who blinded six horses in a small town in northern England. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the incident, without knowing any of the details of the crime, and to evoke the same "air of mystery" and "numinous" qualities as his 1964 play The Royal Hunt of the Sun but in a more modern setting. The narrative of the play follows Dr. Martin Dysart's attempts to understand

168-622: A fall. He died on April 23, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico , from complications at age 79. Medoff's theatre directing credits include Waiting for Godot , The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds , Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris , One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , Equus , and Hot L Baltimore . As an actor, he has appeared in the plays Marat/Sade , Black Comedy/White Lies , and Old Times , among others, and

210-424: A model worker, since he kept the stables immaculately clean and groomed the horses, including one named Nugget. Through Dysart's questioning, it becomes clear that Alan is erotically fixated on Nugget (or "Equus") and secretly takes him for midnight rides, bareback and naked. Alan envisions himself as a king astride the godhead Equus, both destroying their enemies. Dysart gives Alan a placebo "truth pill". Revealing

252-502: A passion for something that is an inseparable part of their personality." This production received a Standout Classic Production Award by Silicon Valley Small Theatre Awards. Equus was revived in Houston for a limited run in July 2014 at Frenetic Theater. The production was largely funded by donations on Kickstarter and was well received by critics and audiences alike. Broadway World called

294-426: A rather unattractive young creature seem not only sympathetic but redeemable while retaining his hostility and humanity." StarkInsider rated the production 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling Lambert "superb" and having a "pitch-perfect performance," while calling Gilvary "dazzling" and having "a preternatural ability to inhabit the very soul of his character. Like the troubled teen that he portrays, both he and Strang possess

336-627: A sexual attraction to horses, desiring to pet their coats, feel their muscular bodies, and smell their sweat. Alan reveals to Dysart that he had first encountered a horse at age six, on the beach. A rider approached him, and took him up on the horse. Alan was visibly excited, but his parents found him and Frank pulled him violently off the horse; the horse rider scoffed at Frank and rode off. Dysart hypnotizes Alan, during which he reveals elements of his dream about human sacrifice. He begins to jog Alan's memory by filling in blanks and asking questions. Alan reveals that he wants to help captive horses by removing

378-510: A tryst with Jill, Alan begins to re-enact the event: Jill, who has taken an interest in Alan, asks him to take her to an adult movie theater . While there, they run into Frank. Alan is traumatized, particularly when he realizes that his father is lying to justify his presence in the theatre; however, this allows Alan to realize that sex is a natural thing for all men, even his father. Alan walks Jill home after they leave and she convinces Alan to come to

420-424: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to an American film of the 1970s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Equus (play) Equus is a 1973 play by Peter Shaffer , about a child psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses . Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of

462-464: Is a devout Christian who has read to him daily from the Bible, but this practice has antagonized Alan's father Frank, a non-believer. Slowly, Dysart makes contact with Alan by playing a game where each of them asks a question, which must be answered honestly. Dysart learns that Frank, concerned that Alan was taking far too much interest in the more violent aspects of the Bible, destroyed a violent picture of

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504-434: Is a jealous God ," Equus/Dysart seethes, "He sees you, he sees you forever and ever, Alan. He sees you!...He sees you!" Alan screams, " God seest! " and then says "No more. No more, Equus!" Alan then uses a steel spike to blind the six horses in the stable, whose eyes have "seen" his very soul. In the final scene, Dysart delivers a monologue questioning the fundamentals of his practice and whether his methods will help Alan, as

546-402: Is a psychiatrist working in a psychiatric hospital. He begins with a monologue in which he outlines the case of 17-year-old Alan Strang, who has blinded six horses. He divulges his feeling that his occupation is not all that he wishes it to be and his dissatisfaction and disappointment with his life. Dysart finds that the supply of troubled young people for him to "adjust" back into "normal" living

588-427: Is doing, but fears being murdered in the same manner if discovered as a "non-believer" by the other priests, and so continues. Eventually the other priests become aware of his misgivings and grab the knife from his hand, at which point he awakens from the dream. Dysart interviews Alan's parents. He learns that, from an early age, Alan has been receiving conflicting views on religion from his parents. Alan's mother, Dora,

630-419: Is never-ending, but he doubts the value of treating these youths, since they will simply return to a dull, normal life that lacks any commitment or "worship". He comments that while Strang's crime was extreme, just such extremity is needed to break free from the chains of existence. A court magistrate, Hesther Saloman, visits Dysart, believing that he has the skills to help Alan come to terms with what he did. At

672-454: The Harry Potter film series (as Harry Potter and Vernon Dursley , respectively). In particular, the casting of seventeen-year-old Radcliffe triggered some controversy since the role of Alan Strang required him to appear nude onstage. Radcliffe insisted that the nude scene was not "gratuitous", and that he should portray the character and the scene as called for by the script. This revival

714-704: The University of Miami and his Master's from Stanford University . Medoff also received an honorary degree in 1981 from Gallaudet University . In 1967, while working as an instructor at the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute in Washington, D.C. , he wrote his first play, The Wager . His first play to be staged in New York City was When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? , which won him the 1974 Drama Desk and Obie Awards for Outstanding New Playwright. Medoff's big breakthrough and most famous work

756-480: The bit , which enslaves them. After turning 17, Alan took a job working in a shop selling electrical goods, where he met Jill Mason, an outgoing and free-spirited young woman who works for a local stable owner. She visited the shop wanting to purchase blades for horse-clippers, which piqued Alan's interest. Jill suggested that Alan work for Harry Dalton, the owner of the stables, to which Alan agreed. Dysart meets with Dalton, who tells him that he first held Alan to be

798-574: The crucifixion of Jesus that Alan had hung at the foot of his bed. Alan then replaced the picture with one of a horse, with large, staring eyes. Alan reveals to Dysart that, during his youth, his attraction to horses came about by way of his mother's Biblical tales, a horse story that she had read to him, Western films , and his grandfather's interest in horses and riding. Alan's sexual education began with his mother, who told him that he could find true love and contentment by way of religious devotion and marriage. During this time, Alan also began to develop

840-534: The "abstract theatrical design" that gave the play its creativity. Welsh also felt the explicit depiction of the blinding was "potentially repulsive" and that "much of the spirit of the play is lost as a consequence." The first Midwest U.S. production of Equus opened March 1978 in Lansing, Michigan, at Boarshead Theatre. Directed by John Peakes, it featured Richard Thomsen as Dysart, David Kropp as Alan, Carmen Decker as Dora, and Lisa Hodge as Jill. Local controversy over

882-530: The Bad Luck To All Of Them movie which we've seen, in one form or another, far too often throughout the Septic Seventies [...] After you’ve fretfully endured the first hour of it with another hour still to go a nasty thought starts flickering through your mind: You decide that the only conceivable “happy ending” would be to watch the entire cast go over a high cliff in a bus." He later said the movie

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924-632: The cause of the boy's (Alan Strang) actions while wrestling with his own sense of purpose and the nature of his work. The original stage production ran at the National Theatre in London from 1973 to 1975, directed by John Dexter . Alec McCowen played Dysart, and Peter Firth played Alan Strang. The first Broadway production starred Anthony Hopkins as Dysart (later played by Richard Burton , Leonard Nimoy , and Anthony Perkins ) and Peter Firth as Alan. When Firth left for Broadway, Dai Bradley took over

966-615: The diners to physical and mental torture. The film received mostly negative reviews on its opening engagements in New York and Los Angeles. Kevin Thomas said in the Los Angeles Times that the film "strikes and maintains such a relentlessly shrill, bombastic note that it becomes abusive of the viewer. Worse yet, this clobbering approach, compounded by an oppressive use of close-ups and a noisy, often merely crass score, serves only to underline

1008-573: The documentary Who Fly on Angels’ Wings , about a mobile pediatric unit traveling through the under-served regions of southern New Mexico , and the following year he directed the feature film Children on Their Birthdays , based on the short story by Truman Capote . Medoff was co-founder of the American Southwest Theatre Company and head of the Department of Theatre Arts for nine years at New Mexico State University , where he

1050-701: The effect of his treatment will make him "normal", but at the cost of his humanity. The play opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on 24 October 1974, ending on 11 September 1976. It then opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre on 5 October 1976, ending on 2 October 1977, for a total of 1,209 performances. Shaffer adapted the play for a 1977 film starring Richard Burton , Peter Firth , Eileen Atkins , Colin Blakely , Joan Plowright , and Jenny Agutter , directed by Sidney Lumet . Unlike stage productions, where

1092-498: The films The Twilight of the Golds , Santa Fe , Homage , Red Ryder , and Clara's Heart . When You Comin%27 Back, Red Ryder%3F (film) When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? is a 1979 American drama film written by Mark Medoff and adapted from his play of the same name . It was directed by Milton Katselas . Teddy, a troubled Vietnam veteran , has his car break down near a Texas roadside diner. He goes inside and subjects

1134-422: The horses are portrayed by human actors, often muscular men wearing tribal-style masks, Lumet did not believe this could adequately be done in a film version "because the reality he [Alan] was being watched he was going to create the dilemma within him." Comparing the film to the play, English professor James M. Welsh felt using real horses in the film was understandable, but argued the outdoor scenes infringed on

1176-402: The hospital, Dysart struggles to engage with Alan, who at first responds to questioning by singing TV advertising jingles. Dysart reveals a dream he has had, in a Homeric Grecian setting, in which he is a public official presiding over a mass ritual sacrifice. One after another, he slices open the abdomens of hundreds of children and pulls out their entrails. He becomes disgusted with what he

1218-439: The manner in which Strang constructs a personal theology involving the horses and the godhead "Equus". Alan sees the horses as representative of God and confuses his adoration of his "God" with sexual attraction . Also important is Shaffer's examination of the conflict between personal values and satisfaction and societal mores, expectations, and institutions, and between Apollonian and Dionysian values and systems. Martin Dysart

1260-469: The nude scene was largely mitigated by casting a married couple as Jill and Alan. This production went on to win Boarshead Theatre's annual awards for Best Production and Best Supporting Actor (Kropp). The Lovegrove Alley Theatre of Baltimore staged a production of Equus in 1979. The production starred a pre-Broadway Charles S. Dutton in the role of Dysart. Director Brad Mays did double duty in

1302-442: The obviousness of all that Medoff has to say and to make his characters verge all the more upon caricature." Janet Maslin of The New York Times commented that "the beginning of Teddy's attack on a band‐of variously sweet or spineless innocents who are in no way armed against him is conceived in genuine viciousness and executed sharply: this part of the movie gives off its share of sparks. But Mark Medoff, in rewriting his play for

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1344-542: The period.) Katselas' willingness to undercut the climax by (1) taking it out of the roadhouse, and (2) filming it in slow motion, succeeds only in dating the play, and that's unfortunate: at a time when the United States is being held hostage by Iran , a thoughtful treatment the long-range effect wielded by the Vietnam war on American myths of heroism could not be more relevant." This 1970s drama film–related article

1386-599: The role of Alan Strang. Lauren Raher played Jill Mason, and her real-life mother Rhona Raher portrayed Dora, Alan's mother. West End producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers revived Equus in 2007, starring Richard Griffiths , Daniel Radcliffe , and Joanna Christie in the leading roles. The production was directed by Thea Sharrock , and opened in February 2007 at the Gielgud Theatre . The production attracted press attention since both Radcliffe and Griffiths had starred in

1428-552: The role of Alan in the London production, playing opposite Michael Jayston as Dr. Dysart. Tom Hulce later replaced Firth during the Broadway run. The Broadway production ran for 1,209 performances. Marian Seldes appeared in every single performance of the Broadway run, first in the role of Hesther and then as Dora. Shaffer would later adapt the play for a 1977 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet . The narrative centers on religious and ritual sacrifice themes, as well as

1470-468: The screen, has made structural changes that flatten the latter portion of the story and remove a lot of the sting. The movie comes apart well before it is over." Ernest Leogrande of the Daily News gave it a marginally more positive review, largely on the basis of Gortner's performance. He wrote that the actor "dominates the movie with the intensity of a man with a venom-induced mania. It's easy to see why he

1512-543: The stables with her. Once there, Jill seduces Alan and the two undress and attempt to have sex. However, Alan hesitates when he hears the horses making noises in the stables beneath, and he is unable to get an erection. Jill tries to ask Alan what the problem is, but he shouts at her to leave. After Jill dresses and walks out of the stables, the still-nude Alan begs the horses for forgiveness. "Mine!...You're mine!...I am yours and you are mine!" cries Equus through Dysart's voice, but then he becomes threatening: " The Lord thy God

1554-592: Was 1979's Children of a Lesser God , which won him the Tony , Drama Desk, and Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Play. Medoff was back on Broadway again with the staging of his play Prymate in 2005. Medoff's screen credits include adaptations of his plays Red Ryder and Children of a Lesser God , for which he was nominated for an Oscar , BAFTA , and Writers Guild of America Award, Clara's Heart (for which he cast, and subsequently "discovered", Neil Patrick Harris ), and City of Joy . In 2000, he produced and directed

1596-634: Was a professor for a total of twenty-seven years and taught Screenwriting and Acting for Film, Short Film Production, and Film Directing and Producing. He was also the Creative Director of the Creative Media Institute at NMSU, the film department at the university. The theater department is still the American Southwest Theater Company. For one semester a year between 2003 and 2006, he worked at Florida State University as

1638-611: Was attracted to buy the play as a movie for himself. The central character of Teddy is one of those roles that gives a performer a chance to chew rugs and eat a script alive." The movie was a box office bomb in both markets, and Columbia Pictures opted not to release it in any other part of the United States. It was eventually picked up for Canadian distribution by Astral Films , which opened it in Toronto on December 14, 1979. The reviews in that city were equally negative. Clyde Gilmour of The Toronto Star called it "a grisly example of

1680-882: Was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play. The first illustrated edition of the play text was produced as a large-format artist's book by the Old Stile Press, with images and an afterword by the British artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins , in 2009. City Lights Theater Company of San Jose, California revived Equus in March 2011. This production, featuring actors Sean Gilvary as Alan Strang and Steve Lambert as Martin Dysart, received rave reviews. The San Jose Mercury News labelled Gilvary and Lambert as "haunting," stating Gilvary "...exposing emotions and epidermis, rides bareback in every sense. He gradually manages to make

1722-461: Was one of the worst films to be released in Toronto during 1979. Jay Scott of The Globe and Mail wrote that "the performers are adequate, and Marjoe Gortner and Stephanie Faracy are something more than that. But the actors cannot overcome director Milton Katselas' weakness for cinematic tricks of the sixties. (Red Ryder is set in 1968 —there is no reason it should be filmed in the style of movies of

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1764-535: Was subsequently transferred to Broadway, running at the Broadhurst Theatre through 8 February 2009. Radcliffe and Griffiths reprised their roles, and Thea Sharrock returned as director. The cast also included Kate Mulgrew , Anna Camp , Carolyn McCormick , Lorenzo Pisoni, T. Ryder Smith , Graeme Malcolm, and Sandra Shipley, with Collin Baja, Tyrone Jackson, Spencer Liff, Adesola Osakalumi, and Marc Spaulding. Radcliffe

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