Orphans

by Lyle Kessler

Comic Drama

Characters: 3 male

Interior Set

Off-Broadway audiences gave this moving drama standing ovations. Two brothers live in a house in North Philly. Although adults, there is something child-like about these orphans. The eldest supports himself and his slightly retarded brother by petty thievery. One night he brings home a rich older man to get him drunk and rob him. It turns out that the man-Harold is very rich and on the lam from a hitman. Harold establishes the house as a base of operations and, in a strange, hilarious and moving way, becomes the father figure the boys have always yearned for.

"A weird, wonderful thriller filled with suspense, pathos and packing an emotional wallop."-WMCA Radio

"Keeps you transfixed."-New York Daily News

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Canon

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Hanako · Rating 4 out of 5]

none of the characters are exactly lovable but the dynamics between each of them are what really draw you in. i think this play would be more moving seeing it live!

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, I have to read a lot of plays. So I think perhaps I will start counting those plays as books for the purposes of my 2012 total count, because when I want to be reading books, I am often instead reading photocopies of plays. So. Orphans. Coming to Broadway in Spring 2013 starring Alec Baldwin!

[Lenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this play. I saw the original production done in NYC in 1985 with Terry Kinney, Kevin Anderson, and John Mahoney, directed by Gary Sinise. The production was so great. Very Steppenwolf.

[EJ Paras · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It’s amazing, how people stop struggling once there’s a little blood.”

These poor boys. Loved this immensely. Wonderful, broken characters.

“I love violent tempers.”

It’s the effects of what growing up not knowing what love is can and will do to you. The approval we need from others; the SAFETY we need from people older than us — the ones that should’ve guided us, nurtured us, and most importantly, loved us.

“You have a simple faith, Phillip. I admire a man with a simple faith.”

The last scene between Treat and Phillip… gonna say this here but I want to do that, mayhaps, in my last year at Stella in one of my Scene Study classes. Boy, that’d be wonderful.

Really enjoyed this read. Heartbreaking. Sad. Those boys really just need a hug.

[Dillon Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play that is popping with humour, depth and characters that we truly care for, I wish theatre was as unpretentious and honest more often, as Orphans is.

Treat & Philip’s relationship is beautifully developed over the course of these brief 80 pages, the parts are so beautifully written that any type of actor could add their own unique twist to it. Harold is more specific, but that brilliantly adds him in as a unique conflict for these brothers.

A truly wonderful play that is heartfelt and fun.

[Jennifer Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A random reading start to 2023–a short, provocative, thoughtful and funny play. This one comes from #theunreadshelf and I can’t for the life of me figure out what made me pick it up in the first place. A mere 79 pages of what feels like a character study of two brothers living in Philadelphia-one is sensitive and naive never venturing outside and the other is a violent thief trying to provide for his brother and protect him in extreme and manipulative ways. Enter an unexpected father like figure who mentors these two boys in strange but sweet ways.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 3 out of 5]

LATW version. A dramedy leaning comedy about two underdeveloped brothers and their petty crime getting them swept up with a rich conman (?) who for some reason takes them under his wing. The plot has a dreamlike quality in not really making sense, but the characters were compelling (carried by some strong performances) enough to draw you in and want answers. The main weakness is leaving things so unresolved.

[Sonny Dyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting work. Wanna see it on stage!

[T.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

TREAT I kidnapped you! Who’s in control here!
HAROLD That depends. (He freshens up his drink.)

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending is every bit as tragic as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliette.

[Mark Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with the focus that I might get the opportunity to play Harold, one of the three characters. I found the play a marvelous triangle of mixed expectations and misplaced assumptions. Without going into the ending, Harold has a dramatic arc that is really quite complex (and Treat and Philip do too). Sufficiently complex to be the kind of play that will have you leaving a performance wanting to go to a coffee shop and talk about it for another hour.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orphans is currently playing on Broadway and was in the news so I wanted to read it and see what it was all about. If a local playhouse staged this drama, I'd go see it. It's about a pair of small time grifter brothers who are mentored by another criminal.

[Tommy Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Orphans” is a fantastic play about a pair of brothers living in a rundown house in Philadelphia and how their lives change when they meet a business man from Chicago. Fantastic dialogue, gritty and layered characters, this is wonderful drama.

[Keira Lentini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and simply beautiful. A must read for everyone!

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand this play. I acted in it as Harold, who is a complete enigma to me. The characters oscillate between dramatic and absurd, and it gets melodramatic really quickly. Harold in the play and as a father figure was not working for me.