Doug Katsaros stared blankly at the headline on his computer screen.
Orphan train survivors reunite, it said.
`I thought, those four words don’t even go together,` he said.
Curious, he clicked on the link. The story, it turned out, was about four former orphans who had been part of the so-called `Orphan Train` movement. For roughly 75 years, beginning in 1856, thousands of orphaned children were placed on trains that took them throughout the United States and Canada. Those trains delivered the children to new homes where they worked on farms, marking what is widely considered the beginning of foster care.
After reading the story, Katasaros wrote his own ` in a dream. That vision grew into `Orphan Train,` a musical being staged at the New York State Theatre Institute from April 18 to 25.
This is the second time `Orphan Train` has been put on at NYSTI, and Karasaros and his fellow collborators hope this string of performances serves as a springboard for a national tour of `Orphan Train.` Karasaros, for one, envisions the play traveling along the path the orphan trains used to follow.
And of course, he knows a little something about making a vision come true.
`We worked very hard` to make `Orphan Train` a reality, he said. `It seems like it’s following its natural path.`
After his dream, Katasaros called a friend, lyricist Michael Barry Greer, who in turn contacted author Larry (L.E.) McCullough. The three men got together, and `I walked the dream out in front of them,` Katasaros said.
Although Katasaros’ background is in music, he didn’t immediately write any music for the piece. Instead, he, Greer and McCullough began fleshing out the story and characters. They decided to focus on six Iowa-bound orphans: the rebellious, headstrong Barney thirsting for fortune and a brother he hardly knows in California, an Irish girl named Bridget who has dark secrets; privileged Jenny, who is stunned to be on an orphan train; her clumsy little brother, Peter; cynical yet needy James Henry; and Emma, the good girl.
Another key character is the Rev. Charles Loring Brace, head of the Children’s Aid Society.
`Rev. Brace is a historical character,` McCullough said. `We made composite characters of the others.`
Those composite characters, though, are rooted in real life.
`All of the stories in our show are real,` Katasaros said. `Each is based on a single, compelling story.`
Although some of those stories are tough to watch ` the orphan train movement did not have a happy ending for all of the kids who took part in it ` McCullough said the characters resonate with the audience.
`People have great emotional reactions,` McCullough said. `So many people think about their own childhood. They think, gee, that was me or could have been me.`
Both Katasaros and McCullough said that what makes `Orphan Train` compelling is not just the stories it tells, but the look it offers at a problem that still persists today, with children still needing foster care and other safeguards.
`There’s still a lot of trouble in the world of orphans,` Katasaros said.
To that end, The show will preview for the public on Saturday, April 17, at 8 p.m. as a benefit for Vanderheyden Hall. Opened as the Troy Orphan Asylum in 1833, Vanderheyden Hall today describes itself as `an agency that provides a safe haven for children, youth and adults who have experienced family disruption, emotional difficulty and learning problems.`
Other shows are Sunday, April 18, 2 p.m.; Friday, April 23, 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 24, 8 p.m.; Sunday, April 25, 2 p.m. and weekdays, April 16, 20, 21, 22, 23 at 10 a.m.. Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and students and $10 for children.
For information, visit www.nysti.org or call 274-3256“
