Flashback Friday: Spring Awakening's Marlee Matlin Delivers 1987 Oscar Acceptance Speech

Earlier this week, it was announced that Marlee Matlin will join the cast of Deaf West's Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, opening September 27 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Though she'll be making her Broadway debut, Matlin holds the prestigious distinction of being the only deaf Academy Award recipient in history.

She earned the Oscar in 1987 for her performance in the big-screen adaptation of Mark Medoff's Tony-winning Children of a Lesser God. Now that she's entering another Tony-winning project, we decided to flash back to the moving acceptance speech the shocked then-21-year-old gave at the Oscar ceremony. The performance that won her that award was her film debut, so chances are Broadway has great things to look forward to.