ORSON’S SHADOW Begins Performances at Theatre Row

Mississippi Mud Productions will begin previews of the first New York City off-Broadway Revival of Austin Pendleton's witty study of theatrical egos, ORSON'S SHADOW, tonight at the Theatre Row Studio Theatre (410 West 42nd St.). The production will officially open on Sunday, October 9. Lauren Reinhard directs. http://www.mississippimudproductions.com/orsons.html

Based on true events, ORSON'S SHADOW is an ingenious tale of two Hollywood giants-Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier. The time is 1960; the place is a West End theatre. Legendary critic Kenneth Tynan has made a startling proposal: Welles should direct Olivier and the young Joan Plowright in Rhinoceros, Ionesco's absurdist masterpiece. But it is the rehearsal process that brims with absurdity as titanic personalities, including Vivien Leigh, wrestle the muse in this witty and incisive depiction of the drama of theatre.

ORSON'S SHADOW debates the merits of stage vs. screen, the mental and emotional struggle theatrical performers endure when contemplating a leap to films, and what occurs when their movie careers are hampered by the controls thrust upon them by the studio establishment.

The play debuted at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in January 2000 and was performed at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in September of that year. It also received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Play and won the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.
Austin Pendleton's other plays are Uncle Bob and Booth, both published and both produced in New York and around the country, and, in the case of Uncle Bob, internationally. He also wrote the book for A Minister's Wife, a musical presented this spring by the Lincoln Center Theatre. He is also an actor, director and teacher. He has acted extensively on, off-Broadway and in many regional theatres, as well as in well over 100 movies and many TV shows. In New York, he this spring directed Three Sisters at CSC, and will this coming season direct the Broadway production of Detroit, the new play by Lisa D'Amour which he directed last fall at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, where he is a member of the Ensemble. He teaches acting regularly at HB Studio, and has taught several sessions at the educational wing of the Mississippi Mud Productions company. He is also currently directing Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference (with Jen Danby), by Marcy Lafferty, and recently co-directed (with Brian Lady) the production of A Streetcar Named Desire which arose out of the HB Studio Ensemble, in conjunction with Mississippi Mud. He is also serving as director on an unfolding Mud Lab of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which first performed in July.

Lauren Reinhard's directing credits include: The Beginning: First Year Showcase (Post Theatre Company), The Precipice: First Year Showcase (Post Theatre Company), No Doze Fest (Coffee Black Productions), Stupid, and Terrible (Rapscallion Theatre Collective), Rumors (Fordham University), Four Dry Tongues (Rapscallion Theatre Collective), Spirit that Won't Let Me Go (TheatreRats), The Inferno Project (Rapscallion Theatre Collective), Afterglow (Rapscallion Theatre Collective), The House of Yes (TheatreRats), Trojan Women 2.0 (Milkcan Theatre Company), The Book of Spells (Midtown International Festival), The Changeling (TheatreRats). She has Assistant Directed such shows as: The Really Big Once (Target Margin, David Herskovits, dir), Peace, Our Country's Good (Jonathan Silverstein, dir.), An Enemy of the People and Unearthing Lilith. Lauren has been seen on stage in such productions as: 4.48 Psychosis, Crave, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Bakkhai, Three Tall Women, and Our Town. Lauren has written both short and full length plays including RAPTURE: The Death Play and The Inferno Project. She has worked in casting for Horizon Theatre Repertory and is an Audition Coach in Manhattan. She proudly serves as Artistic Advisor to the feisty and daring board of the Rapscallion Theatre Collective. She is a proud member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Inc. (SDC).

The cast of ORSON'S SHADOW includes Jen Danby, Dana Jesberger, Andy McCutcheon, Adam Newborn, Stephen Peabody and Eric Rice.

Stage Manager is Bethany Briggs, Production Assistant is Walter Free, Set Design is by Michele Spadaro and Stephen Dobay, Lighting Design is by Alexander Bartenieff, Sound Design is by Lisa Raymond, Costume Design is by Catherine Siracusa and Sidney Levitt. Kelly Stevenson is the Assistant Costume Designer. Hair and Makeup are by Catherine Zubkow. J. David Brimmer and Turner Smith are the Fight Choreographers.

Performances of ORSON'S SHADOW are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m, and Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees are on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. There is also a special matinee performance on Wednesday October 19th at 3 p.m.

Tickets to ORSON'S SHADOW are $18 and can be ordered by calling Telecharge: 800-432-7250 or 212-239-6200, http://www.telecharge.com. They can also be purchased at the Theatre Row box office prior to each performance. Student/Senior tickets are available with ID at box office for $15.00.

The Studio Theatre at Theater Row is located at 410 West 42nd Street, just West of 9th Avenue.

 

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