Synopses & Reviews
Me and Orson Welles is a comic coming-of-age novel set against the background of the twenty-two-year-old Orson Welles preparing his debut of the Mercury Theatre on Broadway. The novel concerns Richard Samuels, a stage-struck kid who takes on a small roll in Welles's production of
Julius Caesar in November of 1937. As Richard writes:
"This is the story of one week in my life. I was seventeen. It was the week I slept in Orson Welles' pajamas. It was the week I fell in love. It was the week I fell out of love. And it was the week I changed my middle name twice."
As the rehearsals progress, Richard is drawn into the world of the theatre and the world that awaits him as an adult. Me and Orson Welles is a tribute to a time past and to a genius of a man whose influence on the theatre and cinema has never been doubted.
Review
"[O]ne of the best depictions of male adolescent yearning ever to hit the page....[A] tale that reads like the wind. Joyful and alive, crackling with wonder." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
"This is the story of one week in my life. I was seventeen. It was the week I slept in Orson Welles's pajamas. It was the week I fell in love. And it was the week I changed my middle name twice."
So begins Me and Orson Welles, a comic coming-of-age novel set against the background of the twenty-two-year-old Orson Welles's debut production at the Mercury Theatre on Broadway in 1937. Richard Samuels is the stage-struck seventeen-year-old from New Jersey who wanders onto the set one day and gets a small role in Welles's Julius Caesar. His life will never be the same...
About the Author
Kaplow is a teacher and writer who for more than fifteen years has written satirical songs and sketches for Vational Public Radio's Morning Edition, where he created "Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters." His acclaimed young adults novels include Alessandra in Love and Alex Icicle: A Romance in Ten Torrid Chapters. He lives in Metuchen, New Jersey.