Set in 1937, when all colors were apparently brown and orange-ish brown, Me and Orson Welles offers a portrait of the future auteur of Citizen Kane as he approaches the peak of his artistic and egotistic expression. Zac Efron plays “Me,” a high school student who talks his way into a small part in Welles’ production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar just days before the premiere on Broadway in a refurbished Mercury Theater. Actually, it is John Houseman who is the producer, but it is Welles (Christian McKay, in a strong performance) who maddeningly calls all the shots. Welles plays Brutus in his adaptation of Caesar, and not only does he make last minute changes in the casting, like hiring Richard (Efron) to play Lucius, and show up late for his own rehearsals, he has a hard time committing to an opening date less than a week away.

Welles is full of bluster and bombast, interrupted by the occasional speech to inspire his beleaguered cast. Claire Danes plays Houseman’s assistant, Sonja, who puts up with it all because she views her stint with the great Welles as a stepping stone to a real job. As such, she is willing to put up with a lot, always with a smile. Richard is seduced not only by Sonja, but by the drama and allure of the theater. And there is so much drama, mostly supplied by Welles. In one of the movie’s funnier scenes, he dashes off from rehearsal at the Mercury to record a radio drama where, midway through, he launches into a long and complex improvised aside to the bemusement and confusion of his fellow voice actors. He is good, and boy does he know it.

Efron plays Richard with a youthful charm. He is not afraid to go toe to toe with either Welles or the womanizing actors in the play. Caesar serves to let Richard get a glimpse of his own potential and also of the realities of life in the theater and the personalities behind the personas of famous actors. And the movie gives us a glimpse of a time before World War II had gripped the world and the country was emerging from the Great Depression with a hopeful and infectious optimism.