'Me and Orson' Relives Theatrical Troupe -- Film Views Welles' Budding Genius and His Mercury Theatre

Summary

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The most entertaining movie opening this Christmas weekend is only at Malco's Ridgeway Four. "Me and Orson Welles" is set on Broadway in 1937, as the confident but not yet world-famous Welles (played with convincing boyish charm and egomaniacal bluster by Christian McKay) prepares to open his Mercury Theatre with an innovative production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," reimagined in Fascist drag. The "me" of the title is Richard Samuels, a 17- year-old high school student who lucks his way into the minor role of Lucius, a lute-strumming servant. Richard is played by former Disney Channel hearthrob Zac Efron, whose hooded eyes add an element of Dorian Gray decadence to his pretty-boy pinup features.

As Richard becomes enamored of his, um, mercurial new "family," he falls for smart, independent Sonja Jones (Claire Danes), assistant to theater manager John Houseman (Eddie Marsan). Houseman and Welles aren't the only familiar names among the cast of characters; other Mercury players who later found fame or at least work in the movies include Joseph Cotten (James Tupper), still- alive-and- kicking-at-95 Norman Lloyd (Leo Bill) and George Colouris (Ben Chaplin), who was unforgettable as "Mr. Thatcher" when Welles made the leap to movies with "Citizen Kane."

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'Me and Orson' Relives Theatrical Troupe -- Film Views Welles' Budding Genius and His Mercury Theatre

"Me and Orson Welles" is a rare period piece for Richard Linklater, probably the most ...

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