‘Orphans’ Gritty return for Island Theatre
Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, August 15, 2007
It’s a human foible to indulge in the voyeuristic pleasure of someone else’s perverted domestic misery.
But it’s not such bad form when certain dramas are played out in finely wrought scenes devised by an excellent playwright.
The kinetically charged “Orphans” by Lyle Kessler seems a perfect vehicle for a band of experienced players who can handle the extremes of such volatile theater. The 35-year-old Island Theatre Company opens “Orphans” on Friday, Aug. 17 at Whidbey Children’s Theater and plays through Sunday, Sept. 2.
For more than three decades Island Theatre has been entertaining audiences with a variety of dramas. Some actors have come and gone.
But some of those who were once the “young bucks” back in the days of the Dog House and Clyde Theater productions are now playing older parts for leading men — continuing the history of the company which often seeks out plays with an American grittiness that challenges its actors to take emotional risks.
Kessler’s 1983 two-act drama revolves around the lives of an older brother who supports his ostensibly retarded younger brother by petty thievery until one fateful night when things go awry after they kidnap a wealthy man and hold him for ransom.
Treat is the big brother to the homebound Phillip and is used to calling all the shots. He’s the alpha male supporting his brother and himself any way he can. Unfortunately, his main skill is armed robbery.
Treat calls himself the protector, keeping watch over — and a tight leash on — his fragile brother by basically imprisoning him in their North Philadelphia row house.
He’s the one who brings home Starkist tuna and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Philip’s favorites. No matter that they’re purchased with money from a man “I had to cut in Fairmount Park.”
Treat does the wrong things for the right reasons.
Phillip is a docile young man of simple faith who seeks comfort by hiding in the closet among his dead mother’s old coats.
“I like it in there. It’s warm,” he says.
And so the audience is introduced to the “familial bliss” of two orphans living on the fringe of life. The play takes off on a whirlwind of dysfunction from there.
Ken Church, an original Island Theatre member, is the producer and also acts in the three-man piece.
Church said the company continues upon the precedent of choosing to take on a play only when “we’re moved to do a play.”
“We’ve done every style of play but this time we wanted something with some real meat,” he said.
Church immediately thought of Richard Evans to direct the play.
“Richard’s strength is that not only is he a great actor and writer, but he’s great at directing other people’s work,” Church said.
“In the hands of someone else the play could become turgid. But with the intensity of the interpersonal relationships of these characters and the forward movement of the piece, Richard is right. He’s good at that style,” Church added.
Ed Cornachio and David Gignac round out the cast who, along with Church, must create the volatility that is required for the piece but also must find the moments of real humor and quietness that Kessler has so eloquently written into it.
Church said they chose the Martha Murphy Main Stage for its intimacy. The space lends itself to the play’s rolling complexity that encapsulates a power struggle fraught with surprises.
“This is theater-in-the-raw,” Church said.
This play contains language intended for adult audiences and is most certainly not for children.
Curtain is at 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 through Sept. 2. Tickets are $15. Seating is limited so advanced ticket purchase is recommended. Call the WCT box office at 221-8707 for tickets and info or visit WCT Wednesday through Friday between 1 and 4 p.m. at Third and Anthes Streets in Langley.
