The Hollywood system’s callous human values are laid bare in Orson Welles & Scatman Crothers in “A Hollywood Ending," David Castro’s hard-hitting and bitter-sweet two-hander which just closed at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival.
The play is based on a true story. In 1985, both Welles and Crothers met at an audition for “The Transformers: The Movie,” an animated film based on the TV cartoon show (and pre-dating by years the billion-dollar live-action movie franchise. Welles (Rob Locke) was the more famous of the two, having directed and starred in such classic films as “Citizen Kane” and “Touch of Evil.” The African-American Crothers (Dennis Neal) was considered a journeyman actor yet had appeared in over 100 films, including a major role in “Roots.” So what were these two pros doing auditioning for a chintzy project like “The Transformers,” hoping to provide voices for two “flesh-devouring planets?”
The answer was all too simple and banal. They were desperate for a paycheck, Welles because his reputation as an enfant terrible had cost him his Hollywood standing, Crothers because African-American actors were so badly paid and treated. As he tells Welles, “I’ve been stuck in the nigger roles since 1945.”
While waiting for their audition number to be called, the men look back on their careers and banter with each other. There are jokes and laughter galore, but some serious discussions as well, most of them having to do with the way they have been disrespected in Hollywood, Welles because of his artistic battles with the establishment, Crothers because of the color of his skin. Odd couple that they are, Welles and Crothers form a bond (which doesn’t keep the latter from lambasting Welles for having played Othello in blackface).
A Hollywood Ending takes on a doubly poignant meaning when we learn in a program note that Welles died weeks after the audition, Crothers a few months later. Locke and Neal give superb performances and help bring Castro’s play to vibrant life.
