C.S. Lewis News

Theatre West Virginia has announced an updated 2020 Summer Schedule.

The classic C.S. Lewis tale The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe takes the stage at DreamWrights Center for Community Arts February 14-23. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was first published in 1950 and became the first book in Lewis's acclaimed series The Chronicles of Narnia. The story has been adapted for television, film, and the stage, and it continues to captivate the imagination of readers and audiences.

Max McLean is president and artistic director of Fellowship for Performing Arts. They have a long history of producing theatre from a Christian worldview to engage a diverse audience. The weekend they bring Birmingham a captivating production of C.S.Lewis' Screwtape Letters. McLean shares insight with me into this ten year running production and his passion for blending faith and the arts.

After a 3-year hiatus, Open Window Theatre is launching its 2020 Season in a brand new space with U.S. and regional premieres and a monthly cultural series. It is rare for a theatre to shut down and then return with a larger space, an expanded staff, and more ambitious artistic programming, but Open Window Theatre's loyal audience raised $250,000 to re-launch, leasing a 9,600-square-foot space (30% larger than its previous home) and building a brand-new 170-seat black box theatre in the Salem Square Center. Open Window also hired its first full-time managing director, Cole Matson, Ph.D., and brought its box office manager back on board. a?oeThe journey has been painful but purifying,a?? says founder and Executive-Artistic Director, Jeremy Stanbary. 

After a 3-year hiatus, Open Window Theatre is launching its 2020 Season in a brand-new space with U.S. and regional premieres and a monthly cultural series. It is rare for a theatre to shut down and then return with a larger space, an expanded staff, and more ambitious artistic programming, but Open Window Theatre's loyal audience raised $250,000 to re-launch, leasing a 9,600-square-foot space (30% larger than its previous home) and building a brand-new 170-seat black box theatre in the Salem Square Center. Open Window also hired its first full-time managing director, Cole Matson, Ph.D., and brought its box office manager back on board. 'The journey has been painful but purifying,' says founder and Executive-Artistic Director, Jeremy Stanbary.

In 2019, I reviewed 30 shows for BroadwayWorld, but I actually wrote more interviews - around 50 articles on my count. Here's my attempt to pick out some highlights alongside the other pieces of theatre I saw this year.

It's official: Calgarians have fallen in love with Narnia, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has become the highest selling show in Alberta Theatre Projects history. Single ticket sales have blown past the previous highest selling show, 2014-15's Charlotte's Web by nearly 125%.

Fellowship for Performing Arts announced today complete casting for the New York premiere of PARADISE LOST, written by award-winning playwright Tom Dulack (Incommunicado, Kennedy Center Prize for New American Drama; Road to Damascus) and directed by Michael Parva (Irena's Vow, Martin Luther on Trial). Performances begin on Wednesday, January 15, with opening night set for Wednesday, January 22, at Theatre Three at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036) for a run through Sunday, February 23, 2020. Tickets are on sale now at www.FPAtheatre.com.

Charming, delightful, and dedicated to excellence, David Payne is encroaching upon his 1000th performance as C.S. Lewis in his play, An Evening with C.S. Lewis. 

Sally Cookson's highly acclaimed stage production of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, which is currently playing to packed houses at the Bridge Theatre in London, and broke box office records when it premiered at Leeds Playhouse in 2017, will begin a major tour of the UK and Ireland at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury on 20 November 2020. It then travels to Cardiff, Salford, Dublin, Edinburgh, Canterbury, Glasgow and finally Nottingham in March 2021.

Lantern Theater Company continues the 2019/20 season with a remount of its original adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, commissioned and developed through the Lantern's New Play Program and co-created by Philadelphia-based artists Anthony Lawton, Christopher Colucci, and Thom Weaver.

Fellowship for Performing Arts announced today complete casting for the second annual Imagine This!, a festival of staged readings featuring plays under consideration for future development that will take place December 4, 5 and 6. Performances will take place at Theatre Three at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036).

Acclaimed actor David Payne stars in An Evening with C.S. Lewis: My Life's Journey at the Aronoff Center's intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater for four performances only: Friday, February 28 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, February 29 at 4:00 PM and 7:30 PM; and March 1 at 2:00 PM. The one-man show is produced by Emery Entertainment, Inc. and is a part of the Cincinnati Arts Association's 2019-20 Season.

Under direction by Artistic Director Darcy Evans, the story follows four children as they travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia where an eternal winter has been sent by the White Witch, but rumors of a prophecy and the return of the King: Aslan, the Lion, send them on an adventure to save everyone. Set in two acts, the show is filled with plenty of action, magic, and words of wisdom a?" mostly delivered by the two-man puppet Aslan.

The production really comes together as a whole-from the lights to the sound to the costumes to the set and even the set changes, everything has been carefully designed and choreographed to give the audience the sense of wonder and magic that should accompany any telling of Narnia.

Dare 2 Defy Productions is thrilled to present a Dare 2 Inspire production of 'Narnia', based on C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Book by Jules Tasca. Lyrics by Ted Drachman. Music by Thomas Tierney.

Fellowship for Performing Arts announced today complete casting for the return of FPA's C.S. LEWIS' THE GREAT DIVORCE. Performances will take place at Theatre Three at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036). Tickets are on sale now at www.FPAtheatre.com.

Alberta Theatre Projects welcomes you to the magical world of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Based on the classic children's novel by C.S. Lewis, adapted for stage by Joseph Robinette and directed by Alberta Theatre Projects Executive & Artistic Director Darcy Evans, this bigger-than-life adventure runs from Nov. 22 - Dec. 29 at the Martha Cohen Theatre.

Explore a mysterious land full of adventure, friends, and foes at Flat Rock Playhouse's final Studio 52 Series Production of 2019, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Set off on an unforgettable journey this November 8th - 17th on the Leiman Mainstage, as Flat Rock Playhouse presents a classic childhood tale like you've never seen it before. Celebrate the strength of family, bravery, and faith this holiday season with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.