Orphans is a 1930's and 40's Jimmy Cagney, corned-beef-and-cabbage melodrama with a heart, thrust into the profane, violent realities of 1980's inner-city strife.

As such, it's a curious combination of sentimental romanticism, tough-guy comedy and psychopathic menace.

Kerry Corrigan, in her first directing assignment, connects successfully on all three aspects in an entertaining production by Waterdown's Village Theatre.

There are three orphans in American Lyle Kessler's play.

Treat and Phillip are socially dysfunctional brothers living in a rundown row house in North Philadelphia. Treat, in his early 20's, is a petty criminal with a short fuse, who both bullies and provides for Phillip, his teenaged brother who lives indoors on Starkist Tuna, toast and Hellman's Mayonnaise.

The third orphan is Harold, a gangster in his 50's on the lam from Chicago, whom Treat meets in a bar and decides to kidnap. But Harold doesn't remain a victim for long.

A few shots of bourbon, a couple of choruses of If I Had The Wings Of An Angel, some reminiscences about the Dead End Kids, and Harold decides he'll become father-figure to these fellow orphans and teach them the basic elements of civilization.

This he does to the point of ultimately freeing Phillip from his dependence on Treat, in the process switching the relationship of the brothers.

Orphans was previously performed in this area at Theatre Aquarius in 1988 with Ted Follows playing the Chicago mobster.

At Waterdown, director Corrigan has assembled a good cast, anchored by Ross Kyler's magnetic Harold, heartily blustering along.

Christian Dube is consistently enjoyable as the naive, lonesome Phillip while Brad Hussey always triggers the possibility of going off the deep end as the angry, distrustful Treat. 

Corrigan has given a lot of thought to this directing debut and the production reflects that care. One of the extra touches is the use of taped incidental music from Hamilton musician Richard Keelan.

It's an offbeat play, in some ways old-fashioned though contemporary in its obscenities, which caused four senior viewers to vacate the Waterdown Memorial Hall once the third f-word was uttered inside the first minute on Saturday.

Orphans not lost on stage
by Dennis Smith
Burlington Post

Growing up without a father can make a man yearn to be one himself.

That's the case with Orphans, an engaging drama currently being staged in Waterdown by Village Theatre.

The play scrambles together three orphans, including two adolescent brothers living in a ramshackle row house in north Philly.

Older brother Treat is a hotheaded petty thief who thrives on confrontations and controls his younger sibling's every move.

Simple-minded Phillip has become shut-in, obsessing over TV, brand names and mayonnaise. A bad asthmatic condition and his bullying older brother have left him on the inside looking out. 

The brothers' dead-end lives are shaken up by Harold, a wealthy 50ish man with a shady background, a big heart and a weakness for bourbon.

Treat decides to hold drunken Harold for ransom. But once sober, the old-timer takes the brothers in and offers to teach Treat to be his bodyguard.

With a few pats on the back and encouragement, the old-timer also shows Phillip how to be independent. But the new family setup has its rough spots.

Orphans proves to be a fine and touching show with some life lessons about trying to get back on the rails from the wrong side of the tracks.

Ross Kyler is outstanding in the role of Harold. He anchors the show with a very natural performance.

Christian Dube as Phillip and Brad Hussey as Treat have both fashioned interesting and sympathetic characters, though their stage movements were occasionally overdone.