Deep Dish Theater Company | Past Productions

ORSON’S SHADOW

by Austin Pendleton, directed by Paul Frellick
August 24 – September 16

Acclaimed actor, director, and playwright Austin Pendleton crams the outsized personalities of Orson Welles, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Vivien Leigh into a tiny rehearsal room in this off-Broadway hit. An effervescent and insightful examination of life, art, and celebrity as unforgettable as the stars themselves.

The Deep Dish Book Selection, “Hamlet’s Dresser” by Bob Smith, will be discussed on Thursday, September 14 at 7 p.m. in Tyndall Galleries.

Deep Dish Theater Company Presents

Southeastern Premiere of “Orson’s Shadow”

CHAPEL HILL — The Deep Dish Theater Company opens its sixth season with "Orson's Shadow," an effervescent comedy about a clash of theatrical titans by Austin Pendleton. Directed by Deep Dish Artistic Director Paul Frellick, the play will run from Thursday, August 24, through Saturday, September 16.

Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill's University Mall, located on Estes Drive and US 15-501. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. There will also be a special early show at 7:30 on Wednesday, September 13. For reservations and information, call 968-1515. Tickets for all performances are $16, $14 for seniors, and $12 for students. Thursday, August 31 is "Cheap Dish Night," when all tickets will be $7; no advance reservations will be taken for that performance.

Audience discussions will follow the Sunday performances on August 27 (featuring a conversation with the production's design team) and September 3. The Deep Dish Book Selection for this production is "Hamlet's Dresser," by Bob Smith, and a discussion of the book, free and open to the public, will be led by David Carr and Evelyn Daniel prior to the performance on Thursday, September 14.

The toast of last year's off-Broadway season, "Orson's Shadow" is based on an actual event "the 1960 English language premiere of Ionesco's Absurdist masterpiece, "Rhinoceros," which brought together Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and Olivier's future wife, Joan Plowright at a crucial juncture in each of their lives. Instigated in the play by England's leading theater critic, Kenneth Tynan, the rehearsal soon spins out of control, becoming a dizzying exploration of art and celebrity which is further fueled when the current Mrs. Olivier, Vivien Leigh, comes to visit. Playwright Pendleton has enjoyed a celebrated career as an actor (from the Broadway premiere of Arthur Kopit's play "Oh, Dad, Poor Dad..." to such films as "What's Up, Doc?" and "My Cousin Vinny", director ("The Little Foxes" with Elizabeth Taylor), teacher, and most recently playwright ("Booth" and "Uncle Bob"). He is a member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Ensemble and an inaugural member of Deep Dish's Advisory Board. Mr. Pendleton will visit Chapel Hill for the Thursday, Sept. 7 performance, and interested patrons will be able to meet him at special events before and after the performance. Call 968-1515 for details.

The Deep Dish cast includes Derrick Ivey as Welles, Mark Filiaci as Olivier, Katja Hill as Ms. Plowright, Jeffrey Detwiler as Tynan, Jeri Lynn Schulke as Ms. Leigh, and Hampton Rowe as the stagehand who witnesses it all. Gene Gurlitz is designing the sets, Laura Hauser is the costumer, Scott Marlow is the lighting designer, Deborah Coclanis is the sound designer and Tracey Broome will create the properties. Rachel Zielinski is the stage manager.

"The play is a perfect example of the kind of work we set out to do when we founded the theater five years ago," director Frellick said. "It's a giddily entertaining piece about the collision of art and life, a penetrating and compassionate look at the incredible process that can lead to transforming works of art or, just as easily, to spectacular failure. We've been interested in this play for years and we're thrilled it became available in time to inaugurate our 'next five years.'"

Deep Dish Theater Company Announces

Special Benefit Events with Austin Pendleton

CHAPEL HILL— The Deep Dish Theater Company will host Austin Pendleton, the celebrated actor, director, teacher and author of “Orson’s Shadow,” the theater’s current offering, on Thursday evening, September 7. The events will benefit the Deep Dish Theater Company, which is just beginning its sixth season in Chapel Hill’s University Mall.

Patrons will be able to join Mr. Pendleton for dinner at Spice Street Restaurant—also located in University Mall—from 5:30-7:30 PM. After that evening’s performance of “Orson’s Shadow,” the playwright will be available at a reception that will also be held at Spice Street. Tickets for the dinner are $65, and $20 for the cash-bar reception. $100 buys a ticket to both events and to the performance as well. For information and to make reservations call the Deep Dish box office at 968-1515 or visit www.deepdishtheater.org.

While Mr. Pendleton may be best known for his performances in such films as has “What’s Up, Doc?” and “My Cousin Vinny,” his extensive resume includes portraying Motel the Tailor in the original cast of “Fiddler on the Roof,” directing Elizabeth Taylor in “The Little Foxes,” an Obie Award-winning performance in “The Last Sweet Days of Isaac,” teaching at Yale University and New York’s HB Studios, and writing three acclaimed plays. He is a member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Ensemble and an inaugural member of Deep Dish’s Advisory Board.

His most recent play, “Orson’s Shadow,” was the toast of last year’s off-Broadway season. It is based on an actual event—the 1960 English language premiere of Ionesco’s Absurdist masterpiece, “Rhinoceros,” which brought together Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and Olivier’s future wife, Joan Plowright at a crucial juncture in each of their lives. Instigated in the play by England’s leading theater critic, Kenneth Tynan, the rehearsal soon spins out of control, becoming a dizzying exploration of art and celebrity which is further fueled when the current Mrs. Olivier, Vivien Leigh, comes to visit. The Deep Dish production runs through September 16.

“Austin Pendleton is every bit the warm and generous spirit that his plays and performances would indicate,” said Deep Dish director Paul Frellick, who studied with Mr. Pendleton at Yale. “We’re thrilled to have him here, and to provide these opportunities for our audience to talk with him about “Orson’s Shadow” and his life in the theater and on film.”

For more information on Deep Dish Theater Company, call 968-1515 or visit the Deep Dish website at www.deepdishtheater.org.