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Jonathan Lynn is Afterwords Guest at Orson's Shadow, June 29
By: BWW News Desk Jun. 28, 2005
Lynn is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist who directed My Cousin Vinny and The Whole Nine Yards; he is also the creator of and writer for the BBC program "Yes Minister." Recent Afterwords guests include Robert Simonson, Austin Pendleton, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Chris Feder (daughter of Orson Welles), Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry and Dick Cavett. "The talkbacks provide insight and lively conversation surrounding the play, and have become quite a draw for the shows audience," as state the show's production notes. Film critic Richard Schikel will be the Afterwords guest on July 6th, with film historians and writers Dennis Doros (also VP of Milestone Films) and Kent Jones doing the same on July 13th.
Orson's Shadow, written by Austin Pendleton (Booth, Uncle Bob) and directed by David Cromer (The Grapes of Wrath, Ford's Theatre, The Cider House Rules, Steppenwolf Theatre), is set in 1960, as notorious film director Orson Welles senses his foothold in the screen industry slipping. Coaxed into a new endeavor by theater critic and friend Kenneth Tynan, the directorial giant finds himself at the helm of a West End production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros starring Laurence Olivier and his paramour Joan Plowright. Olivier's eccentric wife Vivien Leigh adds to the volatile mix as legendary egos collide on stage and off. A fictional rendering of actual events, Orson's Shadow imagines the circumstances behind the staging of this absurdist masterpiece and reveals the human frailty of these titan personalities." Time Out New York wrote of the play, "An engrossing view of the twilight of theater gods. A first-rate cast."
Presented by Planetearth Partners, Inc. and Scott Morfee, this production marks the New York premiere of Orson's Shadow, which debuted at the Steppenwolf Theatre. Set design is by Takeshi Kata, costume design is by Theresa Squire, lighting design is by Tyler Micoleau, and sound is by Jonah Lawrence.
The production, which received a 2005 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award, features Susan Bennett (Beautiful Thing), John Judd (Orson's Shadow – Steppenwolf), Sean McNall (The Imaginary Invalid at The Pearl Theatre Company), 2005 Drama Desk nominee Lee Roy Rogers (The Price – Writers' Theatre), Jeff Still (A Clockwork Orange-Steppenwolf) and Ian Westerfer (Shadowlands).
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