Amy and the Orphans

Amy and the Orphans

Roundabout Theatre Company

The Laura Pels Theatre

February 4, 2018

Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Lindsey Ferrantino’s new play Amy and the Orphans, presently in preview at Roundabout Theatre Company, is a bold telling of siblings facing the truth about their upbringing.  Ms. Ferrantino skillfully weaves humor into the unravelling of brutal facts, crafting a script that is masterfully structured.  Scott Ellis beautifully directs this phenomenal cast into finding moment after moment of honest revelation that builds to clear and painful understanding and acceptance.

When Jacob (played by Mark Blum) and Maggie’s (played by Debra Monk) father pass away, they fly to New York to make the necessary arrangements.  Before driving to their father’s home in Long island, they stop in Queens to pick up their sister Amy (played by Jamie Brewer).  Amy was born with Down syndrome, lives in a state funded residence, and has a job in a local movie theater.  There is much talk between Maggie and Jacob about their regular visits with Amy, but the reality is that they don’t know her very well.  They learn a lot about her in the few days they spend with her and her state appointed guardian, Kathy (played by Vanessa Aspillaga), including the truth about the years she spend in a “group home” in Staten Island.

Director Scott Ellis in rehearsal with Jamie Brewer, Debra Monk, and Mark Blum
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Diane Davis and Josh McDermitt deliver heart breaking performances as the parents of Amy, Maggie, and Jacob.  Their scenes take place at least fifty years prior to the main action of the play.  The turmoil in their decision to put Amy into a state funded hospital in Staten Island is stirring and powerful.  Their scenes are full of denial, humor, fear, love, and desperation.  These scenes accurately depict the limited knowledge of the time period about people with special needs.

Debra Monk and Mark Blum develop an honest and poignant sibling dynamic.  It reflects the idealism and naiveté of their generation and offers a vivid insight into the cause of their distance and inability to connect.  Jamie Brewer delivers an excellent performance as Amy.  She has a strong presence, and her character’s intentions are clearly portrayed.  Vanessa Aspillaga tells it like it is as Kathy.  She gives the audience a focused perspective on the themes and actions of Ms. Ferrantino’s brilliant writing.

The full company of Roundabout Theatre Company's production
of Amy and the Orphans
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Amy and the Orphans is a poignant and potent play.  It allows us to see how far we’ve come as a society on the education of people with disabilities, and how far we have yet to go in our understanding of individuals with special needs.  See this play!  It is running at the Laura Pels Theatre through April 22. 

Domenick Danza