Breaking News: Shia LaBeouf & Alec Baldwin to Lead ORPHANS on Broadway; Opens 4/7 at Schoenfeld Theatre!

Shia LaBeouf, the BAFTA and Emmy Award winning star of Transformers, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Lawless will make his Broadway debut this spring in Orphans.

This production, which will begin performances on March 19 and open on April 7 2013 at the Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street), will mark the first Broadway staging of the play.

LaBeouf will star with Alec Baldwin in Lyle Kessler's play, directed by Daniel Sullivan and produced by Frederick Zollo and Robert Cole.

In the play, two orphaned brothers are living in a decrepit North Philadelphia row house. Treat, the eldest, played by LaBeouf, supports his damaged younger sibling 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. Casting for the role of Phillip will be announced later.

Shia LaBeouf was most recently seen in John Hillcoat's crime drama, Lawless, alongside Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska. He will be seen next in Robert Redford's The Company You Keep, a thriller co-starring Robert Redford, Julie Christie, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon and Chris Cooper. He also stars in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman opposite Evan Rachel Wood and Melissa Leo. He recently wrapped production on Nymphomaniac, directed by Lars von Trier. LaBeouf starred in Transformers; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen; and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Additional film credits include Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opposite Michael Douglas, the fourth installment of Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones" series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, alongside Harrison Ford; D.J. Caruso's Eagle Eye; the Anthony Minghella-scripted segment of New York I Love You; the popular thriller Disturbia; the Oscar nominated animated film Surf's Up; A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints; Emilio Estevez's acclaimed drama Bobby; The Greatest Game Ever Played; I, Robot; Constantine; Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, HBO's "Project Greenlight" featuring The Battle of Shaker Heights produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; and in 2003 he made his feature film debut in the comedy Holes, based on the best-selling book by Louis Sacher.

In 2007, Shia was named the "Star of Tomorrow" by the ShoWest convention of the National Association of Theater Owners, and in February 2008 he was awarded the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award, which was voted for by the British general public. In addition, he was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards for Transformers, winning the Breakout Male Award, the Teen Choice Award for Movie Actor in a Horror/Thriller for his performance in Disturbia; as well as a Scream Award. In 2004, he was nominated for the Young Artists Award for "Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film" and the "Breakthrough Male Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards for his performance in Holes. On television, LeBeouf portrayed Louis Stevens on the Disney Channel series "Even Stevens," and in 2003 earned a Daytime Emmy award for "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series" for his work on the highly rated family show.
Tickets for Orphans will be available for general sale starting Sunday, December 30 by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online by visiting www.Telecharge.com.

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.