Midtown Productions is presenting the play Orphans at the Charleston Acting Studio this month every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Sat. Nov. 17, with a Sunday matinee on Nov. 11 at 3 p.m.
The play, written by Lyle Kessler, was originally performed on Broadway in 1986 and made into a film in 2005. The play tells the story of two grown orphan brothers in North Philadelphia who were deserted in childhood by a deadbeat father after the death of their mother. The older brother, Treat, acts as a father figure, providing for his younger brother Phillip by working as a petty thief. Treat keeps Phillip in a kind of perpetual childhood, depriving him of knowledge and forcing him to live in a world of illiteracy and innocence. The story takes a turn after Treat kidnaps Harold, an orphan himself, who turns their life around. “It’s a play about struggling to find one’s place in the world, a story about love,” says Artistic Director, Sheri Grace Wenger. Wenger chose to produce the show after hearing that it was going to have a resurgence on Broadway, with Alec Baldwin as one of the stars, next spring.
The production stars Robin Burke as Harold, Bryan Roberts as Treat, and John Aguilar as Philip. Roberts and Aguilar are fresh faces to the Charleston acting scene, as one is a student at College of Charleston and the other a recent graduate from Wake Forest. Burke on the other hand, is a more familiar face. “Robin Burke has been a veteran of the stage since the early eighties and has been quite prolific in Charleston on every stage,” says Wenger.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Midtown Productions box office at (843) 795-2223 or online at midtownproductions.org.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No newspaper subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations from downtown to North Charleston to Johns Island to Summerville to Mount Pleasant.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.