Orson’s Shadow

A major hit off-Broadway, Orson’s Shadow is an ingenious tale of two Hollywood giants — Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier. Welles, sensing his foothold in the screen industry slipping, is coaxed by his friend, the legendary critic, Kenneth Tynan to direct Olivier and Olivier’s young paramour Joan Plowright in Ionesco’s absurd masterpiece Rhinoceros. Olivier’s eccentric wife Vivien Leigh adds to the volatile mix as legendary egos collide both on and off stage, and their human frailties are reluctantly revealed in this witty and incisive depiction of the drama of theater.