My overall impression
I had the great good fortune to work with Orson Welles on one of his last projects: a magic special planned for BBC TV. My theater companion was a friend of Orson’s who spent quite a bit of time with Wells in his last years. This show brought Orson back to life for both of us, and was worth the price of admission solely for that reason! But there was so much more to admire than that. While wisely not attempting an impersonation, Rob Locke has the physical presence to remind us of Welles, and even looks shockingly like him at times. And Dennis Neal’s Scatman is a true gem, lighting up the stage with his quick impressions of other great black performers from entertainment’s Golden Age. This show’s plot brings Orson together with Crothers, a notable Hollywood star in his own right, when they happen to meet at a 1985 audition for what turns out to be their last time in front of a microphone for a bland—and beneath them—cartoon movie, created only to sell Transformer robot toys to little kids. The imagined conversation between the men is a brilliant snapshot of each personality, Scatman embodying the working actor who’s clearly grown tired of his career’s endless typecasting, but happy to be working, while Orson resolutely refuses to respond when called by an audition number, rather than by name (“They know who I am,” he huffs). That’s classic Welles behavior! There is much to treasure in this simple and brilliant production. Both actors do a superb job of personifying each celebrity, and the writing is excellent, without a single sour note. The show ends only too soon, leaving us wanting more of this sparkling interaction involving living legends.
