THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS Announces 2011 National Tour

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, has announced a multi-city tour in 2011. Starring Max McLean, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS will run Jan. 15 at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California (Los Angeles); Jan. 29 at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, California; Feb. 12 at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall in Portland, Oregon; Feb. 26 at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington; March 19 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado; March 26-27 at the Knight Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. More dates will be added for 2011. Please visit www.screwtapeonstage.com.

This tour follows THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS' hit nine-month run at The Westside Theatre in New York where it played over 300 performances! It will play its final performance in New York on January 9th. Prior to that, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS was a sold out hit in Chicago and Washington D. C.

"We are delighted by the way New York audiences have embraced C. S. Lewis' THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS," said Executive Producer Ken Denison. "They have been incredible. Now we embark on a tour where we anticipate that audiences will embrace the production as enthusiastically as it has been received in New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago."

Associated Press calls the production "Devilishly funny!" The Chicago Sun-Times hails THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS as "Smart, sizzling entertainment!" and National Review describes it is "Pure genius...an outstanding piece of work!"

Max McLean, who plays the demon Screwtape, says, "Theater has a profound ability to explore religious themes at a deep level. I hear regularly from atheists, agnostics and believers who appreciate the play's insights, as well as the clever stagecraft employed to tell the story. I also hear good things about the robust conversations that the play generates. My favorite comment is, 'It's fascinating to spend an evening with the devil!'"

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS runs 90 minutes without intermission. In this topsy turvy morally inverted universe set in an eerily stylish office in hell, 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, played by award winning actor Max McLean, and his creature-demon secretary Toadpipe, as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on the fine art of seducing an unsuspecting human "patient" down the "soft, gentle path to hell."

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 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.

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."

Produced by New York City based Fellowship for the Performing Arts. Max McLean serves as Artistic Director. Executive Producer and General Manager is Ken Denison of Aruba Productions. Scenic Design is by Cameron Anderson (The Language of Trees - Roundabout Theatre; A Feminine Ending - Playwrights Horizons), Costumes by Michael Bevins (The Killing of John Lennon), Lighting Design by Jesse Klug (Chad Diety; Steppenwolf Theatre; Chicago Shakespeare), and Original Music and Sound Design by John Gromada (Broadway: Next Fall; Proof; Dividing the Estate).

More ticket information, group sales and other information regarding both the final weeks of the NYC production as well as the national tour cities are available at www.ScrewtapeOnStage.com.