A FAMILY THING, by ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK's Gary Lennon Sets 2015 Broadway Opening

BIG BLOCK ENTERTAINMENT (Heathers: The Musical), a television, film, live entertainment and design production company led by Scott Benson, Tony Award-winning producer Jamie Bendell (A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder) and Tony Award-nominated producer Scott Prisand (Rock of Ages), announced today they have optioned the play A FAMILY THING, written by Peabody Award nominee and Emmy Award nominee Gary Lennon ("Orange Is The New Black"), for a Broadway run in 2015. Complete team, dates and cast to be announced at a later date.

Three estranged brothers - once bound by a childhood in turmoil on the streets of Hell's Kitchen - reunite to settle unfinished business.A FAMILY THING is a darkly funny, brutal and heartbreaking exploration of the way family binds us together and tears us apart.

A FAMILY THING's critically-acclaimed, world premiere production took place at Los Angeles' Echo Theater in 2013 and received three Los Angeles Drama Critics Award Nominations and five LA Weekly Award Nominations, including one for Best Play. The Los Angeles Times called the show a "twisted comedy, fiercely performed... for all its wildness, 'A Family Thing' has a heart." StageandCinema.com said, "Lennon's blatantly honest in-your-face dialogue skillfully teeters on the edge and manages to be both disturbing and hilarious, often at the same time."

Gary Lennon (Playwright) is a writer/producer/director. His plays include the critically acclaimed Blackout (LA's McCadden Theatre),.45 (London's Hampstead Theatre - starring Natalie Dormer and directed by Tony Award Nominee Wilson Milam) and the Los Angeles Times' critic's pick, Ovation and NAACP nominated play The Interlopers (Bootleg Theater). Lennon adapted Blackout, renamed Drunks, and :45 for film. Drunks stared Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway Parker Posey and Diane Weist. The film version of :45,which Lennon also directed, stared Mila Jovovich, Stephen Dorf, and Aisha Tyler. Best known for his television work, Lennon is a writer and producer for Jenji Kohan's hit Netflix series "Orange is the New Black" (for which he was awarded a Peabody Award in 2014, Emmy Award nomination for Best Comedy, and a Writers Guild Award nomination), and previously wrote for FX original series "The Shield" and "Justified" (the latter earning him a Peabody Award in 2010, and a Writers Guild Nomination and AFI Award in 2011.) Lennon is currently Co-Executive Producer for "Power" on Starz, and is writing a drama series for Showtime starring Robert Downey Jr, for which he'll also serve as Executive Producer.

Big Block Entertainment (Producer) is a television, film, live entertainment and design production company based in New York and California. The company is a producer of the critically acclaimed off Broadway production of Heathers: The Musical and the upcoming feature film Ride starring Luke Wilson and Helen Hunt. Scott Benson, an industry leader in adapting cutting-edge technology to new market opportunities for 25 years, is the founder and CEO of parent company Big Block Media Holdings and the former COO of SLK Software in North America. Tony Award nominated producer Scott Prisand and Tony Award winning producer Jamie Bendell are Big Block Entertainment's lead producers. In addition to the Big Block Entertainment productions, Prisand is a producer of the world-wide, smash hit musical Rock of Ages (now in its 6th year on Broadway). Previous theater credits include Legally Blonde, Bombay Dreams and BKLYN: The Musical. Prisand has also produced several feature films, including "Rock of Ages" and "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." Bendell's additional theater credits include A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and The Performers. Bendell is also a songwriter with multiple record releases.