Pictred are (front, l-r) Nick Cernoch, Scott Lowell, Charles Shaughnessy, (back, l-r) Bruce McGill and Libby West

Sometimes an actor and a role are so perfectly suited you can’t imagine one without the other. Such is the case with Charles Shaughnessy and the role of Sir Laurence Olivier in Austin Pendleton’s play Orson’s Shadow, currently at the Pasadena Playhouse. Set in London in 1960, the play brings together the luminary characters of Orson Welles (Bruce McGill) and Laurence Olivier (Shaughnessy). It’s an exploration of the behind the scenes interaction of two huge personalities who are, if not past their prime, certainly a bit down on their luck.

Drawn from real life with plenty of creative license, the play begins with renowned British theater critic Kenneth Tynan (outstandingly portrayed by Scott Lowell) meeting with his old friend and hero Welles to convince him he should direct Olivier and his current flame and future wife Dame Joan Ann Plowright (Libby West) in the absurdist masterpiece Rhinoceros, the Ionesco play about the rise of

Pictred (l-r) are Bruce McGill, Libby West and Sharon Lawrence

fascism in which every character except one turns into… well, a rhinoceros. With no small amount of convincing needed, eventually the task is accomplished, and the real fun begins.

Libby West’s Plowright plays the perfect foil to Shaughnessy’s Olivier, giving him ample opportunity to shine, and in the end herself delivering the most poignant moment of the play as she explains, as the only character still alive today, what happened to the other characters after the production and what led to each one’s eventual demise. McGill does a more than credible job as Welles, really hitting his stride in the second act in portraying him as the larger than life icon he was. Nick Cernoch turns in an excellent supporting role in his main stage debut as the assistant Sean, and Sharon Lawrence is nothing short of stunning as Vivien Leigh, the talented and demented star of screen and stage and wife of Olivier.

Pictured (l-r) are Bruce McGill and Charles Shaughnessy

The setting for the play is the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, and it then moves to the Royal Court Theatre in London. It is an interesting look at the behind the scenes goings on involved in bringing huge egos together in the creative process. The entire cast is excellent, but it is Shaughnessy’s Olivier who ends up dominating the stage, which somehow seems only appropriate. Directed by Damaso Rodriguez, Orson’s Shadow is highly recommended.

The plar runs through February 17 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena. Tickets prices are $25.00-$61.00. For tickets and more information call (626) 356-7529 or log onto www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.