AMY and the ORPHANS at the Roundabout - A Family Comedy/Drama that Could Earn Tony Awards

The deceptively clever play AMY and the ORPHANS will have you laughing & leave you deeply moved pondering what constitutes a family & what are familial/societal obligations for people in need of constant care.  New York playwright Lindsey Ferrentino's previous play also performed at the Roundabout UGLY LIES the BONE was a serious, heart wrenching play.  It was a relentless monologue by a mother whose only child was killed at Sandy Hook in 2012.  The tragically prescient play addressed the pervasive malady of mass shootings in our nation & our nation's schools.  There was nothing light hearted about UGLY LIES the BONE.  It was a character study of a badly disfigured American army vet and her unrelenting pain and struggles to fit back into society.   It spoke of the insanity of war and humanities greater propensity for indifference than empathy.  AMY and the ORPHANS addresses issues of proper health care & guilt ridden responsibilities for family members.    Ferrentino proves adroit at both solemnity & comedy.  In AMY and the ORPHANS comedy is used as a palpable facade for the painful epiphanies of obligatory measures to care for our family members and the horrid failings in institutional care.  This laudatory play is a funny parody of siblings quibbling, innovative storytelling, social commentary.   Foremost, the ensemble cast is outstanding.  Amy (an astonishing Jamie Brewer "American Horror Story") is the youngest of 3 siblings about to venture on a road trip to bury their only remaining parent.  And by the way, Jamie Brewer has Down syndrome, a pivotal factor in this fractious family.  The timeline goes on/off course starting with a young married couple, Sarah & Bobby at a couple's retreat attempting to resolve marital problems.  The couple's problems have been exacerbated by the birth of their third child; a daughter born with Down's syndrome.  Sarah is intent on leaving the marriage if Bobby doesn't consent to Amy being institutionalized as a ward of the state.  She is not capable (or willing) to have Amy living at home.  The circuitous plane, train & automobile trip brings Amy's older brother & sister; Maggie (Tony nominated Debra Monk "Curtains") and Bobby (Josh McDermitt "The Walking Dead") to get her to bring her with to their father's funeral on LI.  Amy's caregiver, Cathy (a hilarious Vanessa Aspillaga, B'wy "Anna in the Tropics") is the brash & bumptious adult whose been mainly in charge (and dedicated) to Amy's wellbeing as her family was mostly being absent.  With wisdom comes sorrow and responsibilities.  Amy is happy where she is and happy watching movies.  Her soliloquy of notorious movie lines at the end is miraculous.  How true & tragic are her lines "I could have been somebody."  This show is a major contender for Tonys.