Synopses & Reviews
Now a major motion picture from acclaimed director Richard Linklater, starring Zac Efron, Claire Danes, and Ben Chaplin. An irresistible romantic farce that reads like a Who's Who of the classic American theater, Me and Orson Welles is set during the launch of the then twenty-two-year-old Orson Welles' debut production of Julius Caesar at the Mercury Theatre on Broadway. Beautifully translated to screen by Richard Linklater, the film stars Zac Efron as Richard Samuels, a stage-struck seventeen-year-old from New Jersey who wanders onto the set and accidentally gets cast in the show, forever changing his life as he becomes caught in a vortex of celebrity, ego, art, and love.
Review
In 269 pages, Richard falls in love, has his heart broken [and] showbiz dreams crushed, and- beautifully, imperceptibly- becomes a man. (Entertainment Weekly) One of the best depictions of male adolescent yearning ever to hit the page ... Joyful and alive, crackling with wonder. (Kirkus Reviews, starred)
Review
" Richard, in the span of 269 breezy pages, falls in love, has his heart broken, sees his showbiz dreams crushed, and-beautifully, almost imperceptively-becomes a man."
-Entertainment Weekly
Review
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 nametwice." With this beginning, Robert Kaplow sweeps readers into a break-neck romantic farce that reads like a Who's-Who of the classic American theater. At center stage is the twenty-two-year-old Orson Welles, about to launch his debut production of Julius Caesar. Enter Richard Samuels, an achingly sincere teenager who literally walks into his first acting job. What he finds is a whirlwind of comedy and pathos, self-absorbed celebrities and their outsized egos, art and love. Me and Orson Welles is a joy.
Synopsis
Coming in 2009, the major motion picture from the director of SlackerThe irresistible story of a stagestruck boy coming of age in the golden era of Broadway-with some very famous supporting characters-Me and Orson Welles is a romantic farce that reads like a Who's Who of the classic American theater. Called "one of the best depictions of male adolescent yearning ever to hit the page" (Kirkus Reviews), it is sure to translate wonderfully to screen in 2009.
About the Author
Robert Kaplow is a teacher and writer best known for the satirical songs and sketches he writes for NPR’s Morning Edition, where he created "Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters." His award-winning young adult novels include Alessandra in Love and Alex Icicle: A Romance in Ten Torrid Chapters.