Me and Orson Welles: A Novel (Paperback)

by Robert Kaplow (Author)
Key Phrases: nothing lifeless, Orson Welles, Mercury Theatre, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"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. It was the week I fell out of love." Thus does the precocious protagonist of Kaplow's first adult novel summarize his adventures as a bit-part player in the landmark 1937 Mercury Theater production of Julius Caesar that helped catapult the 22-year-old Welles to the top of the entertainment world. Kaplow wastes no time setting up his unlikely scenario; after an impromptu sidewalk audition, Richard Samuels, a New Jersey high school student, lands the part of Lucius, a minor character. The conceit forms a nice counterpoint to the coming-of-age material, as Kaplow alternates scenes about Samuels's high school and home life with a series of rehearsal passages that bring the brilliant but mercurial Welles to life. Samuels falls in love more than once: first with fellow high school actress Caroline, then with a lovely, flighty production assistant named Sonja who is also involved with Welles, and finally with Gretta, an aspiring writer. The climax features a colorful showdown between Samuels and Welles after the boy confronts the married Welles about his affair with Sonja. Kaplow doesn't quite capture the dark side of the enigmatic Welles, but his bright, enthusiastic writing about Samuels's introduction to the world of high-stakes theater makes this an entertaining offering.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Unknown Binding edition.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-In November, 1937, Richard Samuels, 17, a high school senior drifting relatively painlessly through school and relationships, feels there might be more to life. The New Jerseyite spends weekends wandering in Manhattan looking for a connection, preferably theatrical, that would excite him. He happens upon the yet to open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial muse, Orson Welles. He is given a small part in Julius Caesar, which is ultimately a grand success, and spends a week in a fantastic whirl as part of the troupe. The following few days are exciting, frustrating, and, finally, both triumphant and devastating to the would-be thespian. Kaplow brings the New York of the late 1930s vividly to life, especially the theatrical world. The novel is fast paced and very funny, and the brilliant but unpredictable Welles is a perfect foil for the sardonic but inexperienced young man. Welles at 22 is close to Richard's age, but far from the center of his moral compass. Incidents of anti-Semitism and misogyny distress the teen, yet the actor/producer's brilliance and daring are like a magnet. Richard's dreams of a Broadway career soon fade, but he emerges from the experience with a desire to write, possibly a new romance, and certainly an important new friendship. This unusual coming-of-age story will intrigue teens; while the circumstances and time are very different from today, the feelings and ideas are universal.
Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Unknown Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143035223
• ISBN-13: 978-0143035220
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #656,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life, Love and Youth...Who Could Ask For More?, December 3, 2003

By	W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Me and Orson Welles

I've read a lot of books recently, but I don't think there's one that can top "Me and Orson Welles" for the sheer pleasure it provided. This is a classic, wonderful, coming-of-age story, set in the New York City of 1937. Richard Samuels is a 17-year-old high school student with a big heart and big dreams. Through lucky happenstance, he lands a small part in "Julius Caesar," the opening Broadway production for the Mercury Theatre and its star, 22-year-old Orson Welles.

I'm not a Welles scholar by any means, but have read several biographies of the man, and would say the outsized figure who strides through these pages rings true. Yet for all his manic genius, Welles never steals center stage from our hero, Richard, who we quickly learn has a greater soul, if perhaps a lesser talent. Joseph Cotten, John Houseman, Norman Lloyd and the other famous Mercury names come to life in the story as well. You will feel yourself in their midst, feel the great tensions leading up to that all-so-important opening night, revel in their triumphs, share in their disappointments.

This will sound like a cliché, I know...but I laughed out loud (a lot); I came close to crying a couple of times; and I closed the book with a real sense of disappointment that it was over, but grateful to have recaptured a wonderful feel for that time in life when everything seems magical and new and anything seems to be possible.--William C. Hall

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An A- from Entertainment Weekly!, October 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Me and Orson Welles

I bought this novel after reading the excellent review in Entertainment Weekly last week. It really deserves it. The book is quirky, absorbing, and totally original. It puts you right into the heart of a moment in history. That whole world of New York in the 1930's comes alive: the neon signs, the slang, the tempo. And by the time the story's done, you feel as if you've lived through it all yourself. The feeling is exhilarating and terrifying and hilarious.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining Oddity, October 16, 2003

By	S. Berner (Boca Raton, Fl USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Me and Orson Welles

A coming of age tale is a coming of age tale and there are certain basic steps in the formula that must be adhered to (the fascinating "older" woman; the "exotic" experience outside of the hero's family's ken, etc.), and Kaplow adheres to them. However, and this is a big however, this book's exotic experience is the staging of Orson Welles' 1938 production of "Julius Caesar" and Kaplow's evocation of that time and place, while not always completely historically accurate is always completely fascinating, funny, suspenseful, and enthralling.
One minor carp to the author; Les Tremayne, one of the great radio actors of the time, was not "short and dumpy". While I can't attest to his height, his appearence in over 50 films and innumerable TV shows will attest to his slim, elegant look complete with dapper mustache.
A minor, but peerhaps telling point considering that the book reads like a memoir and was written by someone obviously to young to be its protagonist.