Shia LaBeouf Leaves ‘Orphans’ Over ‘Creative Differences’

Shia LaBeouf will no longer be making his Broadway debut in the Lyle Kessler play Orphans.

LaBeouf was set to appear in the play alongside Alec Baldwin and Tom Sturridge. However, the Transformers star decided to pull out of the show less than two months before its premiere.

The producers of Orphans said in a statement:

“Due to creative differences, the producers of ‘Orphans’ and Shia LaBeouf will be parting ways and he will not be continuing with the production. An announcement on the replacement for the role of Treat will be made shortly.”

According to Playbill.com, Orphans follows two orphaned brothers living in a row house in North Philadelphia. The elder brother, Treat (LaBeouf), supports his younger brother, Phillip (Sturridge), with a number of petty thefts. Treat then decided to kidnap a wealthy man (Baldwin) who has his own motives and becomes a father figure to the boys.

According to UPI, production dates for the play have not changed, and Orphans will still be holding its previews starting March 19, with opening night set for April 7 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The play is directed by Daniel Sullivan.

LaBeouf will be appearing in the upcoming film The Company You Keep. The Robert Redford-directed film also stars Julie Christie, Anna Kendrick, and Susan Sarandon. The film centers on a widower and single father named Jim Grant who is wanted for bank robbery and murder and has been hiding from the FBI for over thirty years. Grant must find the one person who can clear his name, an ex-lover named Mimi, before the FBI catches him.

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