The Orphans' Home Cycle Aiming for Fall Broadway Debut

By Adam Hetrick
06 Jan 2010

The Robedaux clan, the central family of late playwright Horton Foote's The Orphans' Home Cycle, will likely make their Broadway debut in the fall, according to the New York Times.

Producers were initially looking to bring the critically-acclaimed nine-play cycle to Broadway in time for the 2010 Tony Awards this spring, with the soon-to-be-vacated Neil Simon Theatre as a home.

The Times reports that Signature artistic director James Houghton, Hartford Stage artistic director Michael Wilson (whose theatres co-present the large-scale work) and their fellow producers wanted more time to ensure proper marketing for the Broadway transfer and felt a spring Broadway bow would have been rushed.

A spring extension Off-Broadway is likely, while Orphans' producers are planning to take a few notes from producers experienced in the field, namely those who brought The Coast of Utopia and The Norman Conquests (other three-part works) to American audiences.

Michael Wilson directs the theatrical event inspired by Foote's family that is separated into three evenings, with one-day marathons also on the bill.

The final chapter of Orphans arrives Off-Broadway at the Signature Jan. 7. The first part of The Orphans' Home Cycle premiered Off-Broadway Nov. 5, followed by the second installment on Dec. 3. The piece received its world-premiere engagement at Hartford Stage in September 2009.

Part I (The Story of a Childhood) consists of the plays Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts and Lily Dale; Part II (The Story of a Marriage) includes The Widow Claire, Courtship and Valentine's Day; and Part III (The Story of a Family) concludes with 1918, Cousins and The Death of Papa.

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