Fellowship for the Performing Arts
Max McLean, Artistic Director
Presents
THE SMASH HIT PRODUCTION OF
Directed by Max McLean
RETURNS TO SALT LAKE CITY ON
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013
“Pure Genius”
NATIONAL REVIEW
“ The Devil Has Rarely Been Given His Due More Perceptively”
THE NEW YORK TIMES
“A Profound Experience”
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
“Riveting, Expertly Crafted and Captivating”
DESERET NEWS
Chicago, IL - THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the provocative and wickedly funny theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view, will return to Salt Lake City for two performances only. The limited engagement will run at the Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah, 1395 Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City, on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The National Tour of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS kicked off after a hit nine-month run at the Westside Theatre in New York City. Prior to that, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS was a sold out hit in Chicago and Washington D. C. where it ran for a combined eight months.
Produced by Fellowship for the Performing Arts, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is now in its third smash year, delighting capacity audiences in over 50 major cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta andSeattle. Over 300,000 have seen this production on tour, which continues to attract a national following.
Associated Press calls THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS “Devilishly funny!” The Chicago Tribune describes THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS as “Very smart...richly rewarding...exuberant theatricality!” The Washington Post saysTHE SCREWTAPE LETTERS “clearly delights people of faith and even skeptics and followers of non-Christian faiths…it boils down to a mystery about good and evil and the production makes it an entertaining conundrum to ponder.” The Boston Globe raves that it is “Engrossing and Entertaining!”
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS creates a topsy-turvy morally inverted universe set in an eerily stylish office in hell, where God is called the “Enemy” and the devil is referred to as “Our Father below.” The play follows His Abysmal Sublimity Screwtape, Satan’s top psychiatrist (due to his profound understanding of human nature), and his slavish creature-demon Toadpipe, as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to ruin the life and damn the soul of an unsuspecting human on earth.
Screwtape is portrayed by award winning actor Brent Harris, who played Scar in the National Tour of The Lion King, Lucifer in Dr. Faustus, Iago in Othello, Salieri in Amadeus, Olivier in Orson’s Shadow, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the title role in Macbeth. He is regularly seen in many of America’s great theatre companies such as American Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep, Denver Center Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare, and D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Along with The Chronicles of Narnia (including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is still one of Lewis’ most popular and influential works. The book's piercing insight into human nature and the lucid and humorous way Lewis makes his readers squirm in self-recognition made it an immediate success. When first published in 1942 it brought worldwide fame to this little-known Oxford don including the cover of Time Magazine.
The idea for Screwtape first came to Lewis after listening to Hitler’s Reichstag Speech on July 19, 1940, while it was simultaneously translated on BBC Radio. Lewis wrote “I don’t know if I’m weaker than other people, but it is a positive revelation to me how while the speech lasts it is impossible not to waver just a little… Statements which I know to be untrue all but convince me…if only the man says them unflinchingly.”
Lewis dedicated it to his close friend J. R. R. Tolkien who had expressed to Lewis that delving too deeply into the craft of evil would have consequences. Lewis admitted as much when he wrote “Though I had never written anything more easily, I never wrote with less enjoyment . . . though it was easy to twist one’s mind into the diabolical attitude, it was not fun, or not for long. The work into which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst, and itch. Every trace of beauty, freshness, and geniality had to be excluded.”
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is produced by New York City based Fellowship for the Performing Arts. Max McLean serves as the Producing Artistic Director. McLean, along with Jeffrey Fiske, wrote the theatrical adaptation. Executive Producer and General Manager is Ken Denison of Aruba Productions. Scenic Design is by Cameron Anderson, Costumes by Michael Bevins, Lighting Design by Jesse Klug, and Original Music and Sound Design by John Gromada.
The performance schedule for THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is Saturday, March 23 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $39 - $59. There are a limited number of student seats for $25 (student ID required). For groups of 10 or more (including student groups) call 866.476.8707.
To purchase tickets, visit www.ScrewtapeonStage.com, call the Box Office at 801.581.7100 or visit the Kingsbury Hall Box Office Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or Saturdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or 90 minutes prior to show.
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