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January 31, 2007

Orson's Shadow at the Roundhouse Theatre

Tonight I went with two girlfriends to opening night of Orson's Shadow at the Roundhouse Theatre. It was pay-what-you-can night, and we each plunked down $10 and were rewarded with seats in the front row of the balcony.

Let me begin by noting that there are no bad seats at the Roundhouse. It's so small and intimate that even in the balcony (which has only two rows) you can see every gesture, hear every sigh, and yes, roll your eyes at every bad English accent.

The play itself is a strange premise, and here's how Roundhouse pitches it:

Round House Theatre is proud to present the DC-area premiere of Orson's Shadow, one of this year's biggest Off-Broadway hits. Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright come to life in this clever comedy that reimagines the backstage drama that accompanied a 1960 production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros. A fictional account of real events, Orson's Shadow uses humor and irony to reveal the fragility and vulnerability of these larger-than-life celebrities whose tangled romance and fleeting fame lead to a hilarious and powerful clash of the titans. Pendleton's dark backstage comedy has been called the greatest exploration of the artistic soul in a generation.

I'll admit, it's probably especially hard to carry off a play where the actors are portraying real, famous people who happen to be actors, in a situation where they are dramatizing the real-life production of a play. Tricky indeed. And I'm sorry to report that the cast was unable to rise to the occasion.

It's not that the play was terrible--or that the actors were terrible. I will reveal, however, that I did consider sneaking out after the awkward opening scene between emphysema-stricken theatre critic Ken Tynan (played by an over-the-top-fake-coughing Will Gartshore) and swaggering Orson Welles (played in caricature-format by Wilbur Edwin Henry) transitioned to a bizarre soliloquy that mocks theatre-type exposition--all while providing fifty years of biographical history on Orson Welles. It was intended to be ironic, I suppose, but it did not prove a good start to the evening.

There were moments when I thought my intiial impressions were mistaken...particularly when Vivian Leigh (played by Kathryn Kelley) appeared on the scene. Ms. Kelley managed to capture the mannerisms, accent, and overall fragility of Leigh in a way that made me marvel at her talents. Unfortunately, even her manic-depressive grace could not carry the second half. Seeing her struggle to convince the audience that Leigh was in the midst of a manic breakdown was only slightly less painful than watching the actors try to convince us they cared about the meltdown occuring before their eyes.

At one point in the play, Tynan reflects that perhaps he writes such scathing reviews because he believes that great actors should produce great work, and when they fall short it behooves him to call them on their flat performances. Hearing that coming from the stage tonight makes it easier to write my own scathing review.

The twisted irony here is that this disappointing play is all about actors trying to recover from the impact of poor reviews, about trying to sustain their self-worth despite harsh critique, about trying to convince themselves that their performances were misjudged, their skills slighted, their futures ruined--not by themselves, but by critics. I wonder how the cast feels tonight...

My verdict: it is a crime that those front-row balcony seats that we enjoyed tonight for $10 will be going for $45 a pop starting tomorrow night, and running every night for the next four weeks. For that amount, I would expect to see "the greatest exploration of the artistic soul in a generation". Or at least consistent British accents.

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Posted by: leda at February 6, 2007 11:11 AM

Posted by: Anonymous at February 10, 2007 01:36 PM

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