Audiences heading to Roundabout Theatre Company’s Amy and the Orphans, a new play by Ugly Lies the Bone playwright Lindsey Ferrentino, will find in their Playbills a note from the playwright titled: “AKA Andy and the Orphans (a note from the playwright on her play with two titles)”.
Amy and the Orphans is a family drama about three siblings who reunite for a road trip in the wake of their father's death. One of them, Amy, has Down Syndrome, and is played by American Horror Story's Jamie Brewer.
In her note, Ferrentino explains that when she met with actor Edward Barbanell, she was so impressed with his talent that she approached Roundabout about writing a male version of Amy so that both he and Brewer could be a part of the production. The result: a play with two titles.
Barbanell’s credits include the film The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville, the TV series Workaholics, Loudermilk, The New Normal, and Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, as well as the play The Boys Next Door.
Amy and the Orphans, or, when understudy Barbanell steps in, Andy and the Orphans, is directed by Tony nominee Scott Ellis. Performances began February 1 in the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre Off-Broadway, where the show will officially open March 1.
Completing the cast are Tony winner Debra Monk (Redwood Curtain, Steel Pier), veteran actor Mark Blum (The Assembled Parties), Vanessa Aspillaga, Diane Davis, and Josh McDermitt.
The production features sets by Rachel Hauck, costumes by Alejo Vietti, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, and sound design and original music by John Gromada.
