Orson’s Shadow – Theater Legends Lock Horns

1960. Having been stripped of final cut for his last two films and banned from the Universal lot – “They never forgave me for making Citizen Kane at 26”-  Orson Welles (Brad Fryman) finds himself in Dublin. The artist is performing Chimes at Midnight, an original play based on six of Shakespeare’s works describing the relationship of Sir John Falstaff and Prince Hal which he hopes to make as a film. Houses are to say the least, small. Fryman’s deep, resonant, gravel voice, convincing sarcasm and charismatic bombast land well. He treats Vivien Leigh with obvious deference.

Trenchant critic and devotee, Kenneth Tynan, (Patrick Hamilton – pitch perfect) has come to visit. His ulterior motive is to get Welles to direct a production of Eugene Ionesco’s year-old satire Rhinoceros at Britain’s National Theatre, both to help his friend and to secure a job as literary manager for himself. There are two roadblocks. 1. Welles hates the play. 2. Welles blames the theater’s new director, Laurence Olivier, for ruining him in Hollywood in 1948.

L-R: Patrick Hamilton as Kenneth Tynan, Brad Fryman as Orson Welles

Occasionally Tynan will address the audience, as when he confesses being enamored of Welles’ work since repeatedly watching Citizen Kane at 16 or when he apologizes to us about Olivier’s agitated rambling. Hamilton’s ersatz heavy smoking becomes an extension of his hand. His cough and stutter are realistic. Public school bearing very much resembles that of the brilliant character he plays.

The theater giants are in curiously similar positions. Olivier (Ryan Tramont) rescued a dying career with his star turn as vaudevillian Archie Rice in The Entertainer. Welles is looking for opportunity to do the same. Both men are desperate for funding, Welles for his movie of Midnight, Olivier for one of The Scottish play – Macbeth. Speaking the play’s title in a theater provokes bad luck. When it’s cited tonight, both unwittingly and then in revenge, things ominously buzz and flash.

L-R: Brad Fryman as Orson Welles, Ryan Tramont as Laurence Olivier, Cady McClain as Joan Plowright

Tramont  could do better mimicking Olivier’s close-lipped, as-if-enjoying-his-own-speech manner. He does, however, create a character whose malleability is clear. Indecision, over-compensating ego, and
the attention span of a gnat are well played for physical comedy.

“Larry couldn’t stage a cricket marathon on a very sunny day,” Welles grouses. He agrees to the job, however, hoping for exposure that will help the planned film. There’s also evidence he secretly admires Olivier. We shift to Royal Court Theatre in London where now Tynan has to convince Olivier he/the theater needs Welles.

The new head is juggling his position, a burgeoning relationship with actress Joan Plowright (a terrific Cady McClain) and the failed marriage that revolves around wife Vivien Leigh’s (Natalie Menna) increasingly eruptive mania. Making the necessary break seems impossible.

Natalie Menna as Vivien Leigh, Brad Fryman as Orson Welles

McCain carries herself like Plowright, speaks like her, and showcases marvelous timing. The actress projects secure intelligence as she calms down her lover and makes him see reason while never
appearing to exert control. As a more modern thespian, Plowright takes his instruction with a grain of
salt. Menna is better in the first act when Leigh is tremulous and vulnerable than when, in the second,
she goes off the rails. Like Tramont, she hasn’t got the distinctive accent down, nor is the fragility of her insistent flirting apparent.

The play is a push/pull of Oliver and Welles both trying to direct Rhinoceros while the other characters circle, periodically trying to help or interfering. It’s lively, articulate, and full of references to prior work and life circumstances that film and theater buffs will appreciate. Both men show intriguing moments of self assessment. Whether or not the audience is well versed, the characters are clearly drawn and the situation theatrically fraught. An entertaining piece.

L-R: Cady McClain as Joan Plowright, Ryan Tramont as Laurence Olivier, Brad Fryman as Orson Welles

Welles described, “The way [Olivier] got me in this was to take all of my directions like a perfect soldier, never argue with them, and always do them…and he took every actor aside and told them I was misdirecting them. Instead of making it hard for me to direct him, he made it almost impossible for me to direct the cast.”

Luke Hofmaier plays theater assistant Sean with solid Irish accent and grounded personality decisions that make presence authentic.

Direction by Austin Pendleton and David Schweizer keeps things moving, effectively utilizing much of the large space. There are splendid moments – Welles resting his head child-like on Sean’s chest in gratitude of a sympathetic opinion or sitting in the front row of the theater eating a sandwich while directing; Olivier’s inability to remember lines loping back and forth as if fencing; Leigh’s trying to dance with Sean…

The play, based on true events somewhat enlarged in importance, debuted in 2000 and enjoyed a series of productions. It garnered a Lucille Lortell Award nomination for Outstanding Play and won the Drama League Award for Outstanding Performance

Photos by Russ Rowland

Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton
Originally Conceived by Judith Auberjonois
Directed by Austin Pendleton and David Schweizer

Through December 1, 2024
Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue