Orson's Shadow by Austin Pendleton January 20, 2012

Jan 20 - Feb 5, Fri-Sat @ 8p, Sun @ 2p.

Alive Theatre presents 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 Viven Leigh, wrestle the muse in this witty and incisive depiction of the drama of theatre.

Orson's Shadow by Austin Pendleton is an elevating, smartly entertaining glimpse at the extraordinary foibles of extraordinary men. It is a juicy portrait of a moment in the lives of Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles (among many others) each feeling enormous pressure to reinvent himself, to prove to press and public that they've still got "it."

Part of Long Beach Playhouse's new 'Collaborative' Series.

Official Website: http://lbplayhouse.org