Review: ORSON WELLES at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre

Don Bluth Front Row Theatre debuts their new venue with Orson Welles, a one-man theatrical biography of the acclaimed actor/filmmaker. It's a pleasant 80 minutes featuring Keath Hall's expert performance of an unambitious script.

The play finds Welles seeking financing for a late-career project and talking to the audience between phone calls. According to the program, the setting is "1985 in Los Angeles and in the mind and memory of Orson Welles." Welles passed away in October of 1985, so it would seem we are tasked with deciding if this one-sided conversation is happening in some kind of purgatory or if we are visiting him at his home right before the end.

I'm guessing the former since the Welles onstage is not the 70 year old senior he would've been in 1985. Purgatory theatre, theatre in a vacuum, it is the greatest playwrighting cop-out. We hear about his alcoholic father and the despair of being a gifted child. He covers the rise of his genius on stage and radio. He indulgently chronicles a typical day in his life at the height of his success. He decries the studios that ruined his movies and explains why his versions were so much better.

Writer Michael Druxman, known primarily for his work on films like THE DOORWAY (2000) and Roger Corman's CHEYENNE WARRIOR (1994), has crafted what is essentially a posthumous Orson Welles TED talk. While we get a ton of information curated and cleaned, there's no "Maybe I should've..." moments that push artistry and necessary insightful analysis into this kind of story. There are no revelations, there's sparse self-reflection, and, while an accurate portrayal of Welles must include a fair amount of bravado, there's only so much "Aren't I awesome?" I can take without some counter-point to bring him down a peg.

According to his website, Druxman has created a number of these one-person plays about Hollywood icons. If they follow the Orson Welles pattern, they're valentines to his film heroes. He's clearly a fan and makes no attempt to hide it. Another direct address one-man show, Disneyland's "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", is less of a praise-fest.

Keath Hall has the swagger to play the role. His portrayal is immersive. He doesn't use celebrity impression gimmicks. He keeps the story chugging. The script he's performing just doesn't give him an opportunity to flex his oft-proven acting muscles. He's never challenged to cogitate or ruminate on Welles' life, actions, relationships, regrets.

Director Lee Cooley manages to put together an entertaining one-act by focusing on Hall's performance and by not overthinking or sprucing up the product. I was engaged with the story and I watched CITIZEN KANE the next afternoon. I'd consider that fulfillment of what Orson Welles is capable of.

The CITIZEN KANE re-watch had me thinking, well Mr. Welles use of the "Unreliable Narrator" device is so key to his style that maybe Orson Welles is using an unreliable narrator and the audience is expected to be aware they are only getting his very-biased POV. Perhaps, when I was thinking, "I bet Rita Hayworth's version of that anecdote is quite different.", I was supposed to think that. If I give Druxman the benefit of the doubt that his play isn't a film school thesis project and is instead a clever use of Welles' signature style, then it packs the evening with considerably more credibility.

Ultimately, if your Netflix "Recommended for you" menu is full of biographical, artistic, and historical documentaries, then you might dig this spin on Welles for your non-fiction fix. It's well-produced and informative, it just doesn't try to do much.

Don Bluth Front Row Theatre's new space near the 101 and Shea Blvd is a venue with a great deal of creative potential. It's intimate, yet professional, and a new commodity for small cast theatre in the Valley.

Orson Welles plays through May 22nd in Scottsdale, AZ.

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