James Prideauxยs comedy The Orphans opens with the Spangler sisters, Lily and Catherine, having spent the last 25 years living in seclusion in their hotel room. Their only visitor is their lawyer, who brings the sisters heaps of cash (the profits from a steel mill they inherited). Over the years, the hotel has gone from once grand to rundown, but the sisters are blissfully unaware of anything outside their door. The quality of the hotel staff has also declined over the years; the current bellhop is a con artist whoยs pretending to be the sistersย long-lost cousin, hoping to get his hands on the trunk full of cash that the women keep in their room. Lily isnยt buying it, but the more kindhearted Catherine is easily convinced. As the two women are pushed out of their safe, sequestered existence, they find that rejoining the world outside isnยt as difficult as they had imagined ย and itยs lots more fun. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sunday March 1. Through March 14. Theatre Southwest, 8944 Clarkcrest. For information, call 713-661-9505 or visit www.theatresouthwest.org. $12 to $15.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sun., March 1, 3 p.m. Starts: Feb. 20. Continues through March 14, 2009
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2009.