Review: THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

The Screwtape Letters are not for everyone. It is good to say that right off the bat, just to be clear. Adapted from the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare, and told from a demon's point of view, this play reads a whole lot like a series of warped philosophical lectures on the human condition. It is a different sort of Off-Broadway show, and it is better to know what you are getting before you enter the theater.

The Screwtape Letters immediately assumes the audience's intelligence as it drags us down into hell with its witty, tangled, and upside down allegory. As soon as the show begins you realize that you are going to be working hard on keeping up. This is no song and dance- sit back and relax number; this is a lengthy judgement on human nature delivered in quick bursts of rhetoric. Your main task as an audience member is to stay actively engaged; you fall behind, you lose your footing completely, and it is to your detriment, because what is being said is truly captivating and (alarmingly) on the mark.

The show is told through a series of letters written from His Abysmal Sublimity Screwtape (Max McLean) to his unseen nephew, Wormwood. During the course of these letters our narrator delivers advice regarding the ideal movements his nephew should be taking in order to guide his "patient" to down Hell. Screwtape continuously harps upon the "soft and gentle path" down to below, stressing that a life led in indifference, ignorance, and mild sin can be equally as wicked as one led as a straight up murderer or thief.

With their adaptation of The Screwtape Letters, creators Max McLean and Jeffrey Fiske ask us toquestion our own paths and choices. In a more accessible sense, the modern New Yorker's version of Hell seems to stand for a life unfulfilled; our greatest fears are realised once one reaches the end without having found true love and fulfillment. With The Screwtape Letters, Lewis jumps back and forth between defining human beings' actions as inevitable (we were created with animal urges and then, as good "Christians," asked to ignore them), and accusing us of nonstop acts of selfishness (acting courageously in order to feel a selfish level of fulfillment).

The play is told to the audience by the incredibly talented and captivating Max McLean. He is the sole speaker in the play, and his eloquent and emphatic persuasions are made all the more intriguing by his pleasing tone and delivery. McLean is the type of narrator that would be captivating no matter what the material was; I could listen to him read a shopping list.

McLean's only costar is his "secretary" Toadpipe, played by Karen Elanor Wight, who, inbetween crawling on the floor or up and down a ladder, wordlessly re-enacts Screwtapes' stories of temptation. Relying entirely on her body's graceful movements and actions, Wight manages to act as sporadic comedic relief, part time (silent) narrator, animalistic angry hell-beast, and a female presence.

The performances of McLean and Wight are extremely strong. Both exhaust themselves by the end of the 90 minute show, one mentally and verbally, the other physically. Their performances are impressive, and regardless of your feelings about the material they are conveying, there is no questioning their commitment to their craft. They clearly believe in the project, and in turn, they draw us in.

The set design by Cameron Anderson is also worth mentioning because the dramatic backdrop plays the crucial role of reminding us that we are not only in an office, but in an office deep in hell. Sculls line the back wall and light up at eerie intervals as McLean and Wight navigate a sloped and tilted stage, relying on sure footing to stay away from falling over the sides and into the abyss.

The Screwtape Letters is an interesting and complicated journey into the twisted meditations of one of the world's most revered and well-known Christian philosophers. Although Lewis' texts may seem somewhat out of date in our modern time and city, his pondering on the state of a man's soul is ironic, comedic, and often alarmingly identifiable. There is no doubt that you will leave the theater a bit more tired than you came in, but with the exhaustion comes a sense of accomplishment, not to mention several interesting post- theater dinner topics.

The performance schedule for The Screwtape Letters is as follows: Mondays and Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesday Matinee at 2pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm and Sundays at 3pm and 7pm. To purchase tickets, call 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com. More information available at www.screwtapeonstage.com. Fore groups of ten or more call 886-476-8707.

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