Orson's Shadow 

by Austin Pendleton

Directed by Mark Robbins

October 20 - November 12, 2006
PREVIEWS October 18 & 19

Featuring Jim Birdsall, Jim Korinke, Melinda McCrary, Cinnamon Schultz, Bruce Roach and Doogin Brown

Talk Back Performances October 24, 29 and 31.

Performance interpreted for the deaf Wednesday October 25th at 7:30pm.

        

 

They were giants.  Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, and Vivien Leigh.  But oh, how the mighty fall.  In this humorous take on fame and the vulnerability of great talents, playwright Pendleton imagines what might have gone on backstage during Ionesco's Rhinoceros, a play Welles directed at London's National Theatre in 1960.  Orson's Shadow uses humor and irony to reveal the fragility and vulnerability of these larger-than-life celebrities--actors whose tangled romances and fleeting fame lead to a hilarious and powerful clash of the titans.

  

photos by Cynthia Levin

The Reviews are in...

The Kansas City Star--Posted on Tues, Oct.24, 2006     
Acting in 'Shadow' (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Performances sell 'what if?' play about Orson Welles and other film legends.
By ROBERT TRUSSELL 

The Pitch--Posted on Thurs, Nov. 2, 2006     
Citizen Pain (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Unicorn gives us Orson Welles in his not-so-great days.
By ALAN SCHERSTUHL 

Kansas City InfoZine--Posted on Tues, Oct.24, 2006     
SUMMARY: By David Conrads - The Unicorn Theatre continues its 33rd season with a near-perfect production of Austin Pendelton's witty, touching and highly entertaining Orson's Shadow

Use this link to access the rest of the article.

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/18574/

The Johnson County Sun--Posted on Thurs, Nov. 2, 2006     
'Orson," "Story" exude theatrical, social relevance
By Russ Simmons

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17407808&BRD=1459&PAG=461&dept_id=155732&rfi=6

eKC--Posted on Fri, Nov. 3, 2006     
Wordy and Bombastic
By David Ollington

http://kcactive.com/aande/theatre/index.htm

Other Press on Orson's Shadow...

The Kansas City Star--Posted on Sun, Oct. 22, 2006     
Shakespeare, the NFL and NASCAR theater (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Jim Birdsall's voice is heard by millions but he always returns to the stage.
By ROBERT TRUSSELL   

 

Austin Pendleton (Playwright) is the accomplished playwright of Uncle Bob, Booth, and Orson's Shadow, all of which have received critically-acclaimed off-Broadway productions. As a director, Pendleton has staged work on and off Broadway including The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton for which he received a Tony Award nomination in 1981. Mr. Pendleton also served as Artistic Director for Circle Repertory Company.  As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway and is an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. He began his artistic relationship there by directing Say Goodnight, Gracie for the 1979-1980 season. Pendleton’s film work is as diverse as A Beautiful Mind, What's Up, Doc?, The Front Page, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, and The Muppet Movie.

 

 

 

 

Mark Robbins (Director) loves directing at the Unicorn.  But one can’t work here all the time, so in the last year, he directed 5^th of July which was one third of the massive Talley Plays trilogy produced this summer by the Kansas City Actors Theatre. More recently, he directed graduate students at the University of Missouri Kansas City in Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9, and before all that, he directed Ron Simonian’s Next of Kin for…well, the Unicorn. Honorary Assistant Directorship for this show is covered by the spirit of his wife, Betsy, to whom artistic quality is of paramount importance, just behind Love.

 

Jim Birdsall (Orson) was last seen at the Unicorn in Ron Simonian’s Next of Kin in April after taking some time to pursue his other career as a Voiceover Artist.  Jim has appeared on the Missouri Repertory stage in numerous roles and as Prospero in The Tempest, the inaugural production of Kansas City’s Shakespeare Festival.  Some of his favorite roles:  Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lee in True West, Tom in Skylight (at the Unicorn), John Browdie/Sir Mulberry Hawk in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Kent in King Lear, and finally, Brutus in Julius Caesar.

 

 Jim Korinke (Larry) was last seen at Unicorn in Dirty Blonde.  He has been very busy lately, however, appearing in Cole Porter at the Quality Hill Playhouse, and in Ray Cooney's Funny Money and Neil Simon's Proposals at the New Theatre.  In addition, he has a featured role in the movie Shadows of Atticus, with Peter Coyote and Peter Boyle, set for theatrical release this fall.  Following the run of Orson’s Shadow, Jim will play in Leaving Iowa at the American Heartland Theatre; then in the New Theatre's production of The Busybody, with his friend, Jamie Farr.  Jim is a fixture in the Kansas City entertainment community, having appeared in over 100 stage productions, including The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, and Shear Madness, all of which garnered him Drama Desk Awards.  He has also been the recipient of six Best of Kansas City Awards, twelve Omni Awards, four Marconi Awards, and three Silver Microphone Awards for his commercials work for such clients as Coca Cola, Sears, Wal-Mart, McDonalds and the Ford Motor Company.  Jim makes his home in Overland Park with his wife Karen and their four-legged "kids" Teddy and Joey.

 

Melinda McCrary (Vivien) proudly returns to the Unicorn stage having performed previously in Omnium Gatherum, Fuddy Meers, Unidentified Human Remains and The Real Thing.    This summer she appeared with the Kansas City Actors Theatre in the Talley Trilogy as Netta in Talley & Son and June, Netta’s granddaughter, in Fifth of July.  As a veteran Kansas City actor, her numerous roles include Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing/ Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Mother in A Christmas Story/American Heartland and Alma Rose in Playing for Time/The Coterie. She’s also performed with Ground Zero Productions, The New Theatre, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, St. Louis Rep, Boston Shakespeare Company, Arizona Theatre Company and in over 30 productions at The Rep. Melinda is the Director of Education and Community Programs at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and teaches at UMKC. Her adaptation of Carving….s, a trio of short stories by Raymond Carver, was recently produced by Princess Squid Productions and the Urban Culture Project.

 

Cinnamon Schultz (Joan) is very excited to be returning to the Unicorn.  She has previously been seen here in The Laramie Project, Closer, Hot ‘N Throbbing, How I Learned to Drive, Prelude to a Kiss, As Bees in Honey Drown, The Salvation of Iggy Scrooge, Quills, and most recently as Catherine in Proof.  If you caught the Kansas City Actors’ Theatre’s Talley trilogy this past summer, you may have seen her as Olive in Talley & Son.  She has also made appearances at The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Theatre for Young America, The New Theatre, Late Night Theatre, and The Coterie.  She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, and her MFA in acting from the University of Iowa.  Cinnamon also does frequent voice and on-camera work for radio and television.  She lives here in the Kansas City area with her husband Brian and their amazing daughter Anika.

 

 

BRUCE ROACH's (Ken) work as an actor, director and educator has taken him across the U.S. and abroad. Recent appearances in Kansas City include the last two seasons with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, where he played Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing and Fluellen in King Henry V.   Local audiences may also remember his many performances with the Kansas City Rep, including The Glass Menagerie, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and several hundred A Christmas Carols. He is delighted to be back in town and making his debut with the Unicorn Theatre.

 

 

Doogin Brown (Sean) is very exited to be making his first appearance at the Unicorn Theatre. He has worked in Kansas City at the Coterie Theatre, in The Search for Odysseus, Between Land and Sea, and 101 Dalmatians, and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, in Julius Caesar and Henry V. A graduate of Baker University, he performed in 15 shows in 4 years. Some of his favorites include; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Love’s Labor’s Lost, The Elephant Man, How I Learned to Drive and Picasso at the Lapin Agile.
 

 

Season Subscriptions Start at Only $110!
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Buy Tickets Online! or call 816-531-PLAY x 10

Box Office Hours:

Monday-Friday 10-5pm

Saturday 12-4pm (During the run of the show)

 

 Unicorn Theatre offers $5.00 off for senior citizens and full-time students (with valid I.D.). Group rates are available, and students with valid I.D. can purchase Rush Tickets for $7.00 five minutes before curtain (based on availability)

SPECIAL THANKS
to those who generously donated their time, talents and services to this production:

Bungalow Creative

Financial assistance has been provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

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