'Sweet Nothing in My Ear' Play to be Adapted for CBS

Playwright Stephen Sachs has adapted his original play, Sweet Nothing In My Ear, for a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie set to air on CBS in April.  Sweet Nothing in My Ear had its world premiere in 1997 at The Fountain Theatre, where Sachs is co-artistic director.  The television version of Sweet Nothing, now shooting, is directed by Emmy Award-winning Joseph Sargent and stars Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin and Golden Globe winner Jeff Daniels.

In Sweet Nothing in My Ear, Laura, who is deaf, and Dan, who is hearing, are an attractive young couple happily married for nine years.  Their son Adam was born hearing, but by age six has also become deaf.  When Dan decides to pursue the possibility of a cochlear implant for his boy - a tiny computer chip inserted in the brain that would allow him to regain his hearing - a divisive wedge is driven between husband and wife that threatens to shatter their marriage.

Sachs began working with Deaf actors prior to co-founding The Fountain Theatre, and he helped Ed Waterstreet launch L.A.'s Deaf West Theatre at the Fountain in 1991.  Waterstreet has a co-starring role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film, along with Phyllis Frelich who garnered a Tony Award for her work in Children of a Lesser God - in the same role for which Matlin was given the Oscar in the subsequent film version.  Sweet Nothing in My Ear marks the first time the two actresses have worked together; they star as mother and daughter.

In addition to directing The Fountain Theatre's critically-acclaimed, award-winning premiere of Sweet Nothing in My Ear, Sachs directed his play at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis and at Victory Gardens in Chicago.  Sweet Nothing in My Ear was published by Dramatic Publishing in 1999 and was a finalist for the PEN USA Literary Award.  Sachs is also the author of seven other produced plays and adaptations including Miss Julie Freedom Summer, Gilgamesh, Open Window, Central Avenue, Mother's Day, Razkazy and The Baron In The Trees. For his work as a director and a playwright, Sachs has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, American Theatre, Los Angeles magazine, Back Stage, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, L.A. Stage magazine, the London Times and on National Public Radio.