Orphans (Lyle Kessler play)
Orphans | |
---|---|
Written by | Lyle Kessler |
Date premiered | August 31, 1983 |
Place premiered | The Matrix Theatre Company |
Original language | English |
Subject | Orphans, Crime |
Genre | Dark comedy, Tragedy, Magic realism |
Setting | An old row house in North Philadelphia |
Orphans is a play by
Production history
Orphans premiered at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles in August 1983, and featured Joe Pantoliano, Lane Smith and Paul Lieber.[1][2]
In January through March 1985 the play was produced at Chicago's
After its Chicago run, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production premiered Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre, running from May 7, 1985 to January 6, 1986, with Mahoney, Kinney, and Anderson reprising their roles. Later, a replacement cast consisting of Steppenwolf member Gary Cole, Corey Parker and William Wise took over the lead roles.[7]
Orphans was the first Steppenwolf production to be performed internationally in London, premiering in the
The Steppenwolf productions in London and the United States helped establish Kessler's status as a major American playwright as well as the company's signature "rock and roll" brand of theatre. [9] To help highlight the emotional intensity of Kessler's parable, they featured an assortment of compositions by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays to be played in the background; the pieces have remained optional for every production since.
In 2005, Al Pacino did a workshop of the play at the Greenway Court Theatre, Los Angeles;[9] Jesse Eisenberg and Southland's Shawn Hatosy co-starred.
Orphans made its Broadway debut at the
The play was adapted into a film of the same name. The film stars Matthew Modine, Albert Finney and Kevin Anderson.
According to Kessler, "The play has been done everywhere, from Japan to Iceland to Mexico to South America.... It just boggles the mind. It’s amazing: the evolution of the play and its reception in the world."[1]
Synopsis
Two grown orphan brothers live in an old dilapidated
Older brother Treat, brutal and violent, provides for his younger brother Phillip by being a petty thief—interpreting the role of father.
With the love and protectiveness of an older brother and an orphan's fear of abandonment, Treat takes away Phillip's chances to grow up, depriving him of knowledge and forcing him to live in a world of illiteracy and innocence: relegating him to their lost childhood.
As Treat is out stealing to put food on the table, Phillip never leaves the house, thinking he will die from something outside because of a near deadly allergic reaction he had as a child.
Haunted by the death of their mother, he spends his time lying in her closet filled with unworn clothes. Curious about the world, he secretly attempts to understand things by watching reruns of
Treat kidnaps and ties up a Chicago gangster named Harold. Harold, an orphan himself, with the prowess of an escape artist, loosens the ties that bind him, turns the tables around, and with gun in hand, puts himself into the role of teacher, healer and surrogate parent.
Critical reception
A 1985 review of Sinise's production, by
The play was described by The New York Times as "theater for the senses and emotions."
T.H. McCulloh of the Los Angeles Times wrote it is "just as wise and knowledgeable about the human condition" as Tennessee Williams and "also as theatrical as Williams. Kessler has something very important to say, and he says it in terms we can't ignore. The biggest message is that we need each other, and that's something the viewer can't ignore...."[14]
Tony Adler of the
John Simon wrote in the National Review, "The play was a synthetic contraption out of Pinter and Sam Shepard, but it worked as a showcase for energetic actors and a clever director."[16]
Genre
This section is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (December 2023) |
The American theatrical tradition tends not to embrace these perceived contradictions as readily. An expressionistic play is expected to be cerebral and conceptual, not visceral. A realistic play is expected to maintain the same logic that one sees in the outside world. But, like Franz Kafka, Kessler grasps for a reality that is felt within us but doesn't always obey the logic outside of its own prescribed universe.
Direction
Orphans has been applauded for its lack of dependence on one particular theatrical approach. As said by Los Angeles Times critic Scott Collins when reviewing a Deaf West Theatre Company production in 1996, "Whatever the medium, the viewer finds it hard not to be drawn into the emotional journey..." This production of Orphans, by the first sign language theater in the western United States, went on to be a Critic's Choice from the Drama-Logue newspaper and Joseph Dean Anderson's performance as Phillip won him a 6th Annual Ticket Holder's Award under the New Discoveries category.[citation needed]
Further praise for Kessler's ability to create something with such flexibility, while still taking people on its "emotional journey," came from a 2007 production of Orphans at the Penguin Repertory Company in Stony Point, Rockland County, New York. The
In Japan, Orphans premiered in 1991 by a "
In Korea, it premiered in 2017. Its revival is in 2019, with 3 female actors playing Harold, Treat, and Philip. This is to be the first gender free version of Orphans.
The drama's ability to maintain its inherent emotional pull regardless of its theatrical approach is one of the reasons for its continued success.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c Gilbert, Ryan. "No Dead End Ahead! How Lyle Kessler's Orphans Grew Into a Modern Fable & Found a Home on Broadway" broadway.com, April 4, 2013
- ^ "THE MATRIX THEATRE COMPANY - "Orphans" (1983)". www.matrixtheatre.com.
- ^ Orphans Listing steppenwolf.org, accessed June 6, 2013
- ^ Sinese bombsite.com
- ^ Derwent Award Archived 2012-11-11 at the Wayback Machine steppenwolf.org
- ^ Mahoney Archived 2011-11-07 at the Wayback Machine steppenwolf.org
- ^ Orphans Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed June 19, 2023
- ^ "Olivier Winners, 1986" olivierawards.com, accessed June 6, 2013
- ^ Simonson, Robert. "Orphans Will Bow on Broadway in 2009; Pacino Will Likely Star"playbill.com, April 11, 2008
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Shia LaBeouf Will Make Broadway Debut Opposite Alec Baldwin in Orphans - Playbill.com". Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2012-12-06. playbill.com, December 11, 2012
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Orphans, Starring Alec Baldwin, Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge, Ends Brief Broadway Run May 19" playbill.com, May 19, 2013
- Playbill.
- The Record. Woodland Park, NJ: North Jersey Media Group. p. B28.
- The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Adler, Tony (August 17, 2006). "Orphans". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Simon, John (Oct 23, 1987). "Orphans". National Review. 39: 61.
- The Miami Herald. p. 1D.
- ^ Gold, Sylviane. "Theater Review. When a Stranger Brings a Mother’s Touch" New York Times, July 15, 2007
- ^ Kaze kaze-net.org