THE ALLEY THEATRE
www.alleytheatre.org
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Terrence Dwyer, Managing Director
PRESENTS
ORSON'S SHADOW
March 31st - April 30th, 2006
Alley Theatre's Neuhaus Stage
Alley Theatre Produces ORSON'S SHADOW, Austin Pendleton's Backstage Comedy about Orson Welles, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier
Wilbur Edwin Henry as Orson Welles in ORSON'S SHADOW. ORSON'S SHADOW begins March 31st and runs through April 30th, 2006 on the Alley's Neuhaus Stage. For ticket information, visit www.alleytheatre.org. Photo by John Everett.
SUPERSTAR ICONS THROWING A HISSY FIT DOWN BY THE ALLEY THEATRE
by Theresa Pisula
April 5, 2006
theresa@houstontheatre.com
HOUSTON, TEXAS… Picture yourself being transported back in time and being a witness to a play rehearsal of magnificent proportions. If these events you are witnessing really happened, they would be considered historical, even legendary. Not only because of the principal characters involved in this momentous event such as Orson Welles, Sir Laurence Olivier and the hauntingly beautiful Vivien Leigh are superstar film icons of their generation. But also because this milestone is a figment of Austin Pendleton's wild imagination, you're in for a wild ride. Mr. Pendleton is very much an icon himself and is considered that rare triple-threat: an actor, director and playwright. He has directed numerous productions, including the Tony - nominated Broadway production of THE LITTLE FOXES with Elizabeth Taylor, as, well as the world premieres of Say Goodnight, Gracie; The Runner Stumbles and Spoils of War (by Michael Weller). Pendleton has also directed at the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He was the Artistic Director of the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York.
Austin Pendleton
His acting career includes the original Broadway productions of Fiddler on the Roof, the Diary of Anne Frank, and The Little Foxes, directed by Mike Nichols. He has also appeared Off-Broadway acted in title roles in Shakespearean plays. Mr. Pendleton has appeared in over 50 films, including Piccadilly Jim, Finding Nemo, A Beautiful Mind, Amistad, Trial and Error, Guarding Tess, My Cousin Vinny, Starting Over, What's Up Doc? and The Front Page. Mr. Pendleton appeared in Catch 22, as Lt. Col. Moodus, the son-in-law to General Dreedle, played by Orson Welles. TV appearances include Law & Order SVU, Homicide, OZ, Frasier, The West Wing, Miami Vice and St. Elsewhere, among others.
ORSON'S SHADOW, Pendleton's third play, premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre and has enjoyed critical acclaim in Chicago, Off-Broadway, and on the West Coast. His first play Booth, starring Frank Langella, played at the Long Wharf Theatre as well as Off-Broadway. His second play, Uncle Bob, was originally produced at the Mint Theatre in New York. Mr. Pendleton's plays have gone on to be produced on three continents. Having worked with the biggest stars in the industry, as Austin Pendleton pens this fictional play rehearsal, you can be assured he knows what he's writing about.
(L-R) Elizabeth Heflin as Vivien Leigh, Jeffrey Bean as Kenneth Tynan and Elizabeth Bunch as Joan Plowright in ORSON'S SHADOW. ORSON'S SHADOW begins March 31st and runs through April 30th, 2006 on the Alley's Neuhaus Stage. For ticket information, visit www.alleytheatre.org. Photo by John Everett.
In the Alley Theatre's production of ORSON'S SHADOW, we are launched into Spring with intrigue, comedy, and backstage drama. The play is a clever re-imagining of a moment in 1960 when theatrical titans Orson Welles, Sir Laurence Oliver, Joan Plowright, Vivien Leigh and critic Kenneth Tynan came together for a production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros. ORSON'S SHADOW received rave reviews during its recently concluded New York run including a description from the Associates Press that read, "A high-voltage, fascinating tale. Mesmerizing." The New Yorker also tagged it as "a clever, riveting play." David Cromer, who directed both the original production of ORSON'S SHADOW in Chicago as well as the Off-Broadway engagement, directed for the Alley. ORSON'S SHADOW began previews on the Alley's Neuhaus Stage Friday, March 31, 2006 and runs through Sunday April 30, 2006. Please note: This play contains adult language and content. ORSON'S SHADOW is generously sponsored by Shell Oil Company Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Alley's 2005 - 2006 season sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.
Vivien Leigh
ORSON'S SHADOW is set in 1960, as notorious film director Orson Welles senses his foothold in the screen industry slipping. Persuaded into taking on a new endeavor by theater critic and friend Kenneth Tynan, the directorial giant finds himself at the helm of a London production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros featuring Sir Laurence Olivier and his young mistress, the actress Joan Plowright. Olivier's eccentric wife Vivien Leigh adds to the mix as these legendary egos begin to collide. A fictional rendering of actual events, ORSON'S SHADOW reveals the funny, complex, and all-too-human behavior of these titan personalities. Get this: Alley Theatre's Resident Company Actor James Black playing Sir Laurence Olivier (who acquired that distinctive English accent that only James Black as Laurence Olivier can) playing a bad actor in a really bad play directed by Orson Welles. Picture this if you can: Elizabeth Heflin as Vivien Leigh throwing a temper tantrum, screaming with arms and legs flailing all over the Neuhaus Stage of the Alley Theatre floor. It all comes alive in ORSON'S SHADOW down by the Alley. It would be an excellent chance to re-live those moments in time when we would again be mesmerized by these superstars of film and theater and get to know the amazing acting of the thespians of your local theatre. Or if you don't live in Houston, make it a habit to come down here and get to know Alley Theatre's Resident Company Actors James Black, Elizabeth Heflin, and Jeffrey Bean as Kenneth Tynan. Truly, it is not unlike being transported back in the 1960's, and being a fly in the wall of an after Oscar dinner party that has gone completely awry. It is so embarrassing, it's quite brilliant and actually very very funny.
Sir Laurence Olivier
Elizabeth Bunch (Alley's The Pillowman and Be My Baby) is Joan Plowright and Chris Hutchison (Alley's Hapgood) is Sean. Wilbur Edwin Henry makes his Alley debut and demands your attention with his commanding presence of Orson Welles. Henry was a member of the New York cast for ORSON'S SHADOW and recently performed in two of the six New York Productions nominated for the Drama Desk's Outstanding Revival of a Play award for 2005.
No matter how larger-than-life these superstars get, by watching ORSON'S SHADOW, you get a sense of their insecurities and human foibles. As Vivien Leigh reveals to Orson Welles and to the listening audience, one of Laurence Olivier's regret was that he was not as big an actor as Orson Welles because nobody committed suicide during one of his performances (referring to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.) She would know more than anyone else, of course, because Vivien Leigh was married to Sir "Larry" for years. Even though she has been reported as having Bipolar Disorder, Vivien Leigh as played by Elizabeth Heflin (who acquired the lilt at the end of every sentence in her voice) was very much aware of her mesmerizing effect on men. Her bewitching aura as she lights up a cigarette for Kenneth Tynan. Or as Chris Hutchison as Sean the assistant comes up to her as if in a trance and remarks "Are you Scarlett O'Hara of Gone With the Wind?"
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind
Her manic insanity, brought on by her superfluous beauty and superstar ego, as she comments to Orson Welles, "I must fuck Sean..." makes us all realize how truly human these movie star icons really are. The production design team includes scenic designer Takeshi Kata, who designed the scenery for the Off-Broadway production of ORSON'S SHADOW, costume designer Miguel Huidor (Off-Broadway's Twelfth Night), sound designer Phil Cassidy (Alley's production of Steel Magnolias) and lighting designer Kevin Rigdon (Alley's production of The Pillowman). Rigdon is also the Alley Theatre's Associate Director / Design. Choreography for ORSON'S SHADOW was created by Michael Tapley (Alley's A Christmas Carol).
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS
TALK-BACKS. The 7:30pm Tuesday, April 11, 2006 performance of ORSON'S SHADOW will be followed by post-performance Talk - Backs with the cast, led by a member of the Alley staff. The audience is encouraged to stay for this discussion, which occur immediately following the performance.
CAPTIONING. There will be an open-captioned performance of ORSON'S SHADOW at 2:30pm on Sunday April 23, 2006. Funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
TICKET INFORMATION. Tickets to ORSON'S SHADOW can be purchased at www.alleytheatre.org at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue or by calling 713-228-8421. Tickets to preview performances are $29; tickets to performances after the Wednesday, April 5, 2006 opening range from $41 - $46. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate by calling 713-228-9341, ext. 346. The added convenience of reservatioins by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee.
The Alley Theatre is funded in part by the City of Houston and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
(L-R) Jeffrey Bean as Kenneth Tynan and Elizabeth Bunch as Joan Plowright in ORSON'S SHADOW. ORSON'S SHADOW begins March 31st and runs through April 30th, 2006 on the Alley's Neuhaus Stage. For ticket information, visit www.alleytheatre.org. Photo by John Everett.
-0-0-0-0-0-
ORSON'S SHADOW
CAST
KEN…………………….JEFFREY BEAN
SEAN……..................…….CHRIS HUTCHISON
ORSON……................................………..WILBUR EDWIN HENRY
LARRY……............................………….JAMES BLACK
JOAN…………..........…………….ELIZABETH BUNCH
VIVIEN…............................…………..ELIZABETH HEFLIN
SCENES
SETTING…………………….February to April, 1960
ACT ONE………….THE STAGE OF THE GAIETY THEATRE, DUBLIN
ACTS TWO AND THREE……………..............THE STAGE OF THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE, LONDON
Intermission………….15 minutes between Act Two and Act Three
-0-0-0-0-0-