ORPHANS Playwright Lyle Kessler Set for Signing, Q&A at The Drama Bookshop, 5/17

The Drama Bookshop (250 West 40th Street) will celebrate the new Grove Press edition of Orphans this Friday May 17th from 5-7 PM when playwright Lyle Kessler is interviewed by Steven Adly Guirgis at the shop's Seelen Theatre. A Q&A and book signing will follow this free event.

The new edition of Orphans includes an afterword written by the playwright about the evolution of the play and how it has survived and gained worldwide recognition.

ORPHANS will play its final performance on Sunday, May 19th at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street). The production began performances on March 26th and opened on April 18th. 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 andUnlisted. 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.

Tom Sturridge is appearing with the support of Actors' Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

ORPHANS has received several accolades including Tony Nominations for Best Leading Actor Tom Sturridge and Best Revival of a Play. Additionally Sturridge has won Outer Critics Circle Award and Theatre World Awards and has also been nominated for a Drama League Award. Alec Baldwin has been nominated for a Drama League Award.

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

Tickets for Orphans are now on sale and can be purchased by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online by visiting www.Telecharge.com. For more about the production, visit www.orphansonbroadway.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride