‘Orphans’ Brings Home the Family Ties That Bind

“Mom-eeee!” That pained cry echoes throughout “Orphans,” Lyle Kessler’s parable of abandonment at Deaf West Theatre Company.

In fact, in director Stephen Rothman’s adequate if less-than-rousing new version, the cry, along with the rest of Kessler’s admirably structured text, is conveyed via American Sign Language and, for non-signing patrons, is simultaneously read aloud over headsets (available free in the lobby) and translated into supertitles.

Whatever the medium, the viewer finds it hard not to be drawn into the emotional journey of Treat (Troy Michael Kotsur), a small-time Philadelphia hood, and his dependent, housebound brother Philip (Joseph Anderson, who played the son of Richard Dreyfuss’ character in “Mr. Holland’s Opus”). When Treat brings home Harold (Chuck Baird), a paternalistic businessman he intended to rob, the trio slowly form an attenuated family, brimming with the illusions and fears that afflict many more conventional clans.

For all its strengths (including the impressive technical feat of managing three different means of stage communication), the production lacks the usual vigor and visual panache of Deaf West efforts. But the fine performances somewhat compensate, with the zaftig Baird especially engaging as a surrogate father of benevolence and unspoken menace.

* “Orphans,” Deaf West Theatre Company, 660 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Saturdays-Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Dec. 15. $20. (213) 660-4673. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.