Orphans: A Play

By Lyle Kessler

A Best Revival Tony Award-nominated play starring Alec Baldwin. "A briskly entertaining, deeply affecting play. Darkly funny and moving."—USA Today

In a run-down house in North Philadelphia live two orphan brothers: the reclusive, sensitive Philip, sealed off in a world of StarKist tuna and Errol Flynn movies, and Treat, a violent pickpocket and thief. Into this ferocious and funny realm enters Harold, a mysterious, wealthy, middle-aged man who is kidnapped by Treat, but who soon turns the tables on the two brothers, changing forever the delicate power balance of their relationship. Both hilarious and heartbreaking, Orphans is a story of the universal love of a father for his son, and a son's need to live his own life.

Orphans is an international theatrical phenomenon and has been produced in almost every country in the world. It premiered in 1983 at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles, was subsequently produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, off-Broadway at the Westside Arts Theatre and in London, and was adapted for film, starring Albert Finney as Harold. The 2013 production marked the play's first Broadway presentation and inspired Alec Baldwin to say, "I have dreamed, for a long time, of doing this play with this director."


"Orphans has enduring appeal, its powerful theme of fathers and sons searching each other out. Alec Baldwin mines the vein of tenderness that lies deep in the play."—Variety

"Wickedly funny one minute and powerfully emotional the next. Kessler uses humor as a subversive force, making the shift into despair a visceral gut punch."—The Hollywood Reporter

"Keeps you transfixed."—New York Daily News

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9780802193117

Book preview

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Orphans

Also by Lyle Kessler

The Watering Place

Possession

Unlisted

Robbers

Collision

LYLE KESSLER

Orphans

V-1.tif

Grove Press

New York

Copyright © 1983, 1985 by Lyle Kessler

The Prisoner’s Song copyright © MCMXXIV Shapiro Bernstein & Co., Inc., New York. Copyright renewed. Used by permission.

Afterword copyright © 2013 by Lyle Kessler

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or the facilitation of such without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any member of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or anthology, should send inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 or [e-mail]

CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that Orphans is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and all British Commonwealth countries, and all countries covered by the International Copyright Union, the Pan-American Copyright Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction, such as information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved.

First-class professional, stock, and amateur applications for permission to perform it, and those other rights stated above, must be made in advance to Paradigm Talent Agency, 360 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10010, ATTN: Jack Tantleff, and paying the requisite fee, whether the play is presented for charity or gain and whether or not admission is charged.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-0-8021-9311-7

Grove Press

841 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

Distributed by Publishers Group West

www.groveatlantic.com

Again, Forever and Always.

For Margaret, Katharine, and Michael

Orphans

Orphans opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway on April 18, 2013, produced by Frederick Zollo, Robert Cole, The Shubert Organization, Orin Wolf, Lucky VIII, Scott M. Delman, James P. MacGilvray, and StylesFour Productions.

TREAT Ben Foster

PHILLIP Tom Sturridge

HAROLD Alec Baldwin

Directed by Daniel Sullivan

Scenic Design—John Lee Beatty

Costume Design—Jess Goldstein

Lighting Design—Pat Collins

Sound Design—Peter Fitzgerald

Original Music—Tom Kitt

Fight Direction—Thomas Schall

Production Management—Aurora Productions

Dialect Coach—Deborah Hecht

Casting—Caparelliotis Casting

Production Stage Manager—Roy Harris

General Manager—Lisa M. Poyer

Press Representative—Boneau/Bryan-Brown

Company Manager—Bruce Klinger

Advertising & Marketing—Serino/Coyne

Orphans opened in London at the Hampstead Theatre on March 11, 1986. It moved to the Apollo Theatre on April 12, 1986, produced by Michael Medwin for Memorial Films Limited, Dasha Epstein, Robert Fox Limited, and Joan Cullman.

TREAT Jeff Fahey

PHILLIP Kevin Anderson

HAROLD Albert Finney

Directed by Gary Sinise

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of Orphans opened in Chicago on February 3, 1985. It moved to New York’s Westside Arts Theatre on May 7, 1985, produced by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Wolf Gang Productions, Dasha Epstein and Joan Cullman.

TREAT Terry Kinney

PHILLIP Kevin Anderson

HAROLD John Mahoney

Directed by Gary Sinise

Music—Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays

Sets and Lights—Kevin Rigdon

Costumes—Cookie Gluck

Sound—Gary Sinise

Props—Lori S. Sugar

Stage Manager—Douglas Bryan Bean

Orphans opened at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles on August 31, 1983. Producer, Joseph Stern, Actors For Themselves.

TREAT Paul Lieber

PHILLIP Joe Pantoliano

HAROLD Lane Smith

Directed by John Lehne

Scenic Design—D. Martyn Bookwalter

Costumes—Doug Spesert

Lighting Design—Martin Aronstein

Sound Design—Jon Gottlieb

Stage Manager—Kim O’Bannon

"Before my teacher came,

I was not there. . . . I was

in a no-world."

HELEN KELLER

CHARACTERS

PHILLIP

TREAT

HAROLD

PLACE

Camac Street, North Philadelphia

TIME

Sometime in the Not Too Distant Past

ACT I

SCENE ONE

A spring day.

An old row house. Wallpaper, faded, peeling water stains. A cluttered living room, stacks of newspapers, a worn, frayed couch, old, broken furniture, and other litter. A small television set on the floor in the middle of the room. A table with a large empty bottle of Hellmann’s mayonnaise on it. On a shelf, stacks of StarKist tuna cans.

PHILLIP is silhouetted in the semidarkness staring at the TV, which is playing an old movie. A woman’s red shoe is on top of the TV set. Phillip crosses to the window and sees something. He runs across the room, stuffs the books on the couch under the cushions, grabs the newspaper, shuts off the TV, puts the paper by the window seat, starts upstairs, turns back, rushes to the TV, grabs the red shoe and shoves it inside the window seat. He runs upstairs.

The front door opens. TREAT enters out of breath. He wears a dungaree jacket, faded khaki pants, and a bandanna around his neck. He catches his breath, looks out the window down the street, relaxes, snaps his fingers, and enters the living room. He picks up the empty mayonnaise bottle and looks at it.

TREAT

(calling) Phillip? Phillip? (Yells.) Phillip, you hear me! (He begins to empty his pockets of bracelets, wallets, and rings.) You home, Phillip! I imagine you’re home! Where the hell else you gonna be, huh! I imagine you’re hiding from your big brother Treat! (He inspects the jewelry.) Come on out, Phillip! I ain’t in the mood for no hide-and-go-seek game. You hear me! Come on the fuck out!

Phillip appears from upstairs. He wears an old tattered shirt, dirty sweatpants, green sneakers with open hanging shoelaces.

PHILLIP

Don’t tag me.

TREAT

(preoccupied with jewelry)

I ain’t gonna tag you.

PHILLIP