Photo Flash: THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS Post Show Talk-back With Ralph Winter

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, adapted from the novel Max McLean, celebrated its 100th performance at the Westside Theatre, 407 West 43rd Street, New York and announced that it is now an open run. The New York Times said of the production "The Devil has rarely been given his due more perceptively and eruditely"; New York Post called it "As entertaining as it is thought-provoking"; "Wickedly witty...One Hell of a Good Show! raves the Wall Street Journal. Elle writes "Brilliant...Hilarious Wit" and AP calls the show "Devilishly Funny...Lewis' philosophical insights are cleverly conveyed!"

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS was a hit at Chicago's Mercury Theatre where it ran for six months. It was also a success at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. where it played for ten sold out weeks. This fall it embarked on a national tour delighting capacity houses in San Francisco, Phoenix, Louisville, Chattanooga, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston and Austin.

Adapting this novel to the stage, Jeffrey Fiske and Max McLean focused tightly on the novel's arc of how to entice the mind of a human "patient" toward damnation. In this inverted moral universe set in an office in hell, God is called the "Enemy" and the devil is referred to as "Our Father below."

As His Abysmal Sublimity Screwtape, Max McLean, the 2009 recipient of Chicago's Jeff Award for Solo Performance, creates a "master of the universe" character, all too familiar to New Yorkers, whose rhetorical flourishes mesmerize while he persuades.

At his feet is the creature-demon, Toadpipe, played by Elise Girardin, who transforms into the paragons of vice Screwtape conjures with a flick of his fingers. The actors' combined skills wheedle their unsuspecting soul down the "soft, gentle path to hell."

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 as follows: Mondays and Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesday Matinee at 2pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays 4pm and 8pm at and Sundays at 3pm and 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, call 212.239.6200 or visit www.telecharge.com. More information is available at www.ScrewtapeOnStage.com. For groups of 10 or more call 866.476.8707.

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