ORPHANS, Starring Alec Baldwin, Ben Foster & Tom Sturridge Closes on Broadway Today

The Tony Award-nominated play ORPHANS will play its final Broadway show TODAY, MAY 19 after 27 previews and 37 regular performances at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street). The production began performances on March 26 and opened on April 18. The Broadway production of Lyle Kessler's ORPHANS stars Alec Baldwin, Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge and is directed by Daniel Sullivan.

In ORPHANS, two orphaned brothers are living in a decrepit North Philadelphia row house. Treat, the eldest, (Foster), supports his damaged younger sibling Phillip (Sturridge) by petty thievery, and makes the house a virtual prison for the seemingly simple-minded Phillip. One night he kidnaps a rich older man, Harold (Baldwin), who turns out to have his own motives and becomes the father figure the boys have always yearned for.

ORPHANS premiered in 1983 at The Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles where it won the Drama-Logue Award. Following its 1985 engagement at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, the play had a successful run at New York's Westside Arts Theatre and was subsequently produced in London. A film version was also produced. It has been an international success in almost every country in the world since its initial production at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Other plays by Kessler include The Watering Place, Possession, Robbers and Unlisted. Collision had its world premiere at the Rattlestick Theatre Co. this season. Films include Orphans, Gladiator, The Saint of Fort Washington and Touched, in which he co-starred. Mr. Kessler served as the director of the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab and was moderator of the playwright/directors unit of The Actors Studio West. He is a member of The Actors Studio and The Labyrinth Theater Co. He and his wife, actress Margaret Ladd, founded the "Imagination Workshop," the longest running arts and mental health organization in the country.

ORPHANS has received several accolades including Tony Nominations for Best Leading Actor Tom Sturridge and Best Revival of a Play. Additionally Sturridge has been nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama League Award. Alec Baldwin has been nominated for a Drama League Award and the production was also nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Play by the Outer Critics Circle.

ORPHANS is produced by Frederick Zollo, Robert Cole, The Shubert Organization, Orin Wolf, Lucky VIII, Scott M. Delman, James P. MacGilvray and StylesFour Productions.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride