Earlier this month, the Zemfira Stage company presented the East Coast premiere of Marcus Wolland’s Lost Eden: The Magnificent Welles, featuring critically-acclaimed Potomac region actor Jay Tilley as the legendary Orson Welles.
Wellesnet correspondent Leslie Weisman took in the play and interviewed actor Jay Tilley. Here is some background on the production, followed by Leslie Weisman’s interview with Jay Tilley.
LOST EDEN: THE MAGNIFICENT WELLES
Directed by Zina T. Bleck and Herb Tax. The production ran from June 28 to July 15.
Lost Eden is a one-man show that features a 27-year-old Welles staying in a Rio de Janeiro hotel room in 1942 while filming It’s All True to promote goodwill between the United States and South America as part of the war effort. While recounting his remarkable life and career thus far, including the recent critical success of Citizen Kane (recently cited by the AFI as the greatest movie ever made – for the second time in ten years), Welles battles with studio executives and colleagues on the phone in an effort to save his second major RKO film release, The Magnificent Ambersons, from wholesale re-editing.
Jay Tilley, who plays Welles, made his Zemfira Stage debut in Lost Eden. Tilley has appeared with numerous professional, community and dinner theatre companies throughout the Potomac Region in productions ranging from musicals and light operas to contemporary dramas and comedies to classical. His most notable stage credits include Anne of the Thousand Days (Henry VIII), The Man Who Came To Dinner (Sheridan Whiteside, directed by Bleck), Julius Caesar (Brutus), Of Mice and Men (Lennie), The Taming of the Shrew (Petruchio), Romeo and Juliet (Friar Laurence), Our Town (Stage Manager), 1776 (Edward Rutledge/Richard Henry Lee), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Miles Gloriosus), Ride The Winds (Tokusan), Children of Eden (Father), Assassins (Leon Czolgosz) and Oklahoma! (Jud Fry), among others.
Zina T. Bleck has most recently directed Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and That Day in September with Zemfira Stage as well as A Streetcar Named Desire, Judgment at Nuremberg, Little Women, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Stop Kiss, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Lion in Winter, Dracula and How I Learned to Drive, among others, with various theatre companies throughout the Potomac Region.
Marcus Wolland is a writer, actor, director and producer living in Seattle. His own production of this show is available on DVD through the Public Broadcasting Service (www.shoppbs.org) and has been shown at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and included as a dramatic reading at the 2006 International Documentary Film Festival in Brazil. He is currently writing a play with music concerning legendary Broadway producer David Merrick, which will workshop in Seattle later this year.
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An Interview with JAY TILLEY
By Leslie Weisman
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This interview was conducted July 13, 2007 in Arlington, Virginia.
LESLIE WEISMAN: Playing Orson Welles must be both highly irresistible and hugely intimidating for an actor. How did it come about? Did you approach Marcus Wolland, or did he seek you out?
JAY TILLEY: Well, it all actually started a year ago, when I was doing a production of The Man Who Came to Dinner — I was Sheridan Whiteside, Zina Bleck was directing — Herb Tax, who’s our co-director and technical director for this show, was playing Bert Jefferson, and our mutual friend Harry Kantrovich was also in this show — and we got to talking one night. At that point in my career I’d done musical theatre, I’d done contemporary dramas and comedies, and I’d done some Shakespeare and classical works, and so I got to thinking: “What’s my next challenge as an actor?” And so I told him, “I think it’s to do a one-man show.” And they all thought that was a great idea, and Zina said, “We could do something here for Zemfira Stage, maybe next summer. What would you like to do?” And I said I’d like to do an historical character, and Herb suggested Orson Welles. He said, “You have a similar look to him, you have a similar voice, you have a similar acting style; I think you’d be great for it.” And at the time I knew something about Orson Welles, but wasn’t as well versed as hopefully I am now. But Herb has been studying Orson Welles for years, and so he suggested it. And then it was a matter of Herb going out and finding a play — it was an Internet search, he found it online — and then he got in touch with Marcus Wolland and got Marcus in touch with Zina, and they sort of worked out all the details, and it sort of went from there.
LESLIE WEISMAN: It seems to have been a happy marriage, then, between you and the play.
JAY TILLEY: I like to think so, yeah! (laughter). Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to talk to Marcus yet, but hopefully I’ll have a chance to send him a thank-you e-mail, or talk with him on the phone or something. I have his performance — I did get the DVD — just to see what his real, true vision of the show was, and it was really fascinating to watch.
LESLIE WEISMAN: So you have not spoken with him at all yet?
JAY TILLEY: No, I figured it would be more appropriate for Zina and Herb to work out the details and then for me to communicate with him. But I just want to thank him for writing such a wonderful piece and letting me — I mean this was his baby, and letting an unknown actor…
LESLIE WEISMAN: So he basically did give his okay?
JAY TILLEY: Yeah! I think at first he thought they wanted him to come out and do it himself, and then they said “We actually have someone else in mind,” and he said, “Sure, fine! I don’t have to be the only person to perform this piece.”
LESLIE WEISMAN: That’s marvelous.
JAY TILLEY: There was another piece that we’d found called Rosebud, that Christian McKay does (written by Welsh playwright Mark Jenkins), but he has the rights to it and didn’t want to give it up, because that was written for him. But then Herb found Lost Eden, and I’m really grateful to Marcus for giving me this opportunity, and for just writing such a great piece.
LESLIE WEISMAN: How familiar with Welles’ oeuvre were you before you took this on? Which parts of it spoke to you: both personally, and as an actor who would find it especially challenging or rewarding?
JAY TILLEY: Well, it’s a funny story. The first time Orson Welles and I were mentioned in the same sentence — and I’m not sure I deserved that — I did a play a few years ago, a samurai musical called Ride the Winds, and I played Tokusan, a former samurai turned priest — he was more of a sage now — and one of the reviews said Tokusan was “part sage, part Orson Welles with Fu Manchu whiskers.” And that, even a few years ago, got me to thinking: “Hm, that would be really interesting to play.” But of course at the time, I just dismissed it. And over the years I’ve had other people tell me, “That’s something you should play.” But at the time, I didn’t know — I mean, my first exposure to Orson was Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, (the commercials for) frozen peas, Paul Masson wine, and Transformers: The Movie — I was big on the Transformers, that was his last movie, so I knew those things early on. Then later I learned about the War of the Worlds and Citizen Kane — believe it or not, I had never seen Citizen Kane until four or five months ago.
LESLIE WEISMAN: Really! Well, what did you think?
JAY TILLEY: I was blown away by it, I really was. I mean, I’m not just saying that because it’s fashionable to say that. I truly said yeah, I can see why a lot of people think that’s the greatest movie.
LESLIE WEISMAN: And think of how young he was.
JAY TILLEY: Yeah, and the performance is amazing, too. So I knew a lot of the basics, and I had my work cut out for me. So Herb and Zina helped me with my research, and I had a couple of amateur Welles scholars help me out. I did a lot of reading about him online, read a lot of the biographies; listened to a lot of the radio broadcasts online; watched several of his movies, including Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. Watched interviews with him — I found a lot of stuff on YouTube. It’s a great tool now. In fact, a gentleman recently posted the BBC-Arena interview documentary.
LESLIE WEISMAN: The Leslie Megahey interview.
JAY TILLEY: Yes, exactly. Which is just fascinating to watch. So that’s basically what I did. I have to say, unfortunately I didn’t know much about him, but now, I’ve developed this love affair with him.
LESLIE WEISMAN: It happens to most of us (laughter). And you’ll become a partisan of Wellesnet.com, too.
JAY TILLEY: Oh yeah, I think that’s a really neat Website. I sent off my press release and here we are (laughter).
LESLIE WEISMAN: Which parts of Welles spoke to you personally, when it came to portraying him?
JAY TILLEY: Well of course Citizen Kane, but not just the directing side of it, the acting side of it. Because he was so young, and the way he transformed himself not just physically but mentally throughout the whole piece. I mean, he aged emotionally and physically right before your eyes. I mean, the whole arc he created of a man who had lost his childhood, and in trying to get everyone to love him, just pushed everyone away. I mean the whole introspective failure that was just amazing to watch. Chimes at Midnight — I loved, loved, loved it, loved his Falstaff. So now Falstaff is now high on my list of roles to play. And I really liked his Scottish play (for those not familiar with theatrical lore and superstition, the word Macbeth is never spoken in the theatre outside the play itself), and — now that they’ve been restored more to his vision, Touch of Evil I like a lot, and F for Fake was fascinating to watch, and also the documentary, One Man Band — about his unfinished works. And of course I love listening to the old radio broadcasts. I love the Julius Caesar rehearsal, where he’s Brutus; that’s a really great one. I could go on and on, but those are the ones.
LESLIE WEISMAN: You’ve certainly done a lot of research. You mentioned Ambersons. How about It’s All True?
JAY TILLEY: I have not had a chance to see that. I’d like to — I mean, we’re setting this in Brazil — but I haven’t had a chance to watch any of that.
LESLIE WEISMAN: But you’ve done research on the history and so forth.
JAY TILLEY: Oh, yes. But despite all the research I’ve done, I still feel like I’m really just scratching the surface.
LESLIE WEISMAN: We all do! (laughter). What did you find most difficult about portraying Welles? What came more easily?
JAY TILLEY: I think what was most difficult for me and the thing that continues to grow with each performance is just getting down his mannerisms, his vocal patterns, the way he would speak in certain situations. I mean there was a certain way on the radio, a certain way onstage, a certain way in person doing interviews… So that’s probably been one of the most difficult things, trying to get into the psyche of the man. In some way we’re similar, but in some ways we’re very different, too. But I think what came more easily for me was just getting in touch with his passion for acting and the craft, and also for creating in general. Because I get the impression that he just had this unquenchable thirst to create what he wanted to create. And that is kind of the way I am, with just wanting to do theatre in the area: just wanting to do it, even if it’s for little or no money, just trying to be a better actor, keep doing stuff, keep creating, keep learning, keep growing. Because from my understanding, he kept working until he died. I think hours before he died, he called a colleague who was close to him, about finishing something. And then he was found dead the next morning.
LESLIE WEISMAN: Slumped over the typewriter.
JAY TILLEY: Exactly. And that’s — I can totally relate to that. So those aspects of him… plus, I’ve been told I have a deeper voice (as Welles did), and just from watching him, I think we have similar acting styles, and a love for the same type of characters. In the BBC-Arena interview he talked about how there are “King” actors. Because I also see myself as being a “King” actor, a sort of big, authoritative — and those are also the type of roles that I get. In recent years I’ve developed a love for doing Shakespeare, I’ve done a few Shakespeares recently.
LESLIE WEISMAN: So you must love this “Shakespeare in Washington” we’re having (a six-month festival of theater, music, dance, film, art, on Shakespeare, from January to June 2007 in Washington, D.C. Among the Welles offerings were screenings of Chimes at Midnight and exhibits featuring set designs from the Voodoo Macbeth).
JAY TILLEY: Yes, So that’s another thing that I think I have in common with him. The research I’ve done indicates that people thought he could be very arrogant at that time, and that’s one thing I had to kind of find within myself, because I tend to me more of a humble person, I tend to want to give other people credit first. So I had to find that side of him in his youth. The impression I got watching the interviews was that he was a changed man. And I don’t know if I would have been quite as daring as he was beforehand, but now I might be, I don’t know… maybe some of him will rub off on me (laughs).
LESLIE WEISMAN: You’ve been doing this show for how long now?
JAY TILLEY: We’ve done it nine performances over three weekends. We’d really like to do it again. I certainly would hate for it to end after nine performances. But this is the only place it’s played thus far.
LESLIE WEISMAN:Has your performance deepened with time? Have you learned anything about Welles in the interim that has changed your approach?
JAY TILLEY: Yes. You know, in different biographies there are different accounts of things that happened in his life. We do know that his mother’s death had an effect on him. And that’s one of the things that Marcus has in the script, I think it’s early on, is talking about the mother. And so, one of the things that’s come out in my performance more and more, is the vulnerability, that side of him — because there is of course the brash and arrogant side, but there’s also the other side, the softer side. But losing his mother, how that really changed his life – losing both his parents. And having a brother that he didn’t really have a relationship with… so that’s one aspect. And I think just getting in touch with how his mind worked, how he really saw things. I mean, he had a certain vision, how he saw things, how he wanted to do things, and he was going to do whatever he had to do to get it. And how frustrating it must have been with the Ambersons edit, when… it must have been the first time when someone said to him, “No. You’re not going to get your way.” That can be debated, but that’s what Marcus has done here with his script, with his vision. So things like that have come out more over time. Hopefully over time it’s become deeper, more multifaceted., there’s been more layers added.
LESLIE WEISMAN: And how about your understanding of Welles, of his legacy. Has that changed?
JAY TILLEY: I think so, because I came into it thinking he was this cocky, arrogant guy, but I think there was much more to him than that. Especially as he aged, over time. But even when he was younger, he had actors he really admired, like James Cagney and Lucille Ball. He was quick to come out and say “They’re brilliant, these people are brilliant.” And even though he had these issues with John Houseman, they had a love-hate relationship, he really admired that guy. So I don’t think he was just a jerk — he had those moments, but he was normal human being; he had his good parts, he had his not-so-good parts, he had his good days and his bad days, sometimes he had his good days to work with, sometimes “Is this a good day or not to be around him?” (laughter). But I think there are a lot of misconceptions about him. And that’s something I’ve come to realize over time, and that’s why I’m glad to have someone like Herb around to help me really have a better understanding. You know, there are a lot of people who — even in some of the reviews we got — say, “Well, it points out that after Ambersons he was really a failure.” I don’t believe that. That’s totally false.
LESLIE WEISMAN: I hope it doesn’t show that! I hope we don’t conclude that at the end.
JAY TILLEY: I hope not either! That’s not what we’re going for. Because Marcus does write a very despondent ending. I think Marcus intended that, even if he was a failure at the end — which I don’t believe he was after that — even if he did have those moments, he said, “I’m down, but I’m going to pick myself up.” That’s the kind of man he was. And I think he went on to do good things. So what I want to do is give a little glimmer of, “Okay, I’m down, but I’ll be back.” And he did come back.
LESLIE WEISMAN: Have you met any of Welles’ intimates or colleagues?
JAY TILLEY: No, I wish, I wish! I would love to meet Peter Bogdanovich, I would love to meet Ruth Warrick, I would love to meet — I don’t know if he’s still around, Robert Wise, if he’s still living…
LESLIE WEISMAN: No, both Robert Wise and Ruth Warrick have passed away. How about Welles’ daughter, Chris Welles Feder?
JAY TILLEY: No, I’d love to meet her! Do you have contact information for her?
LESLIE WEISMAN: No, but maybe if she reads this, she will contact us.
JAY TILLEY: Did you ever meet Orson Welles?
LESLIE WEISMAN: No, my interest in Orson is quite recent, maybe eight or nine years; by that time, he was…
JAY TILLEY: Well, of all the historical characters I could meet, if I had to pick one, it would be him. So maybe if there’s an afterlife, I’ll look him up (laughter). I don’t know if I’d like to know what he thinks of my performance (laughs).
LESLIE WEISMAN: Will the play be traveling?
JAY TILLEY: No, I’d certainly hate for it to have to end after nine performances. If I did two hundred performances, I could still learn more, and get more in touch with him. But this is the only place it’s played so far. Of course I’d have to work the rights out with Marcus, because it is his baby, and I don’t know if he’s still performing it or not.
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Note to theater groups:
Anyone who would like to arrange to have the show come to their theater should contact Zina Bleck at: