Robert Dorfman & Peter Christian Hansen to Lead FREUD'S LAST SESSION at the Guthrie

The Guthrie Theater today announced casting for Mark St. Germain's two-hander Freud's Last Session-an astute comedy about an imagined meeting between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis that balances intellectual depth with humor and compassion. Rob Melrose (Guthrie: The Acting Company's Julius Caesar, Happy Days and Pen) returns to direct the production that begins performances on February 25 and continues through March 16, 2014.

In Freud's Last Session, Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis debate the existence of God in Freud's London office while air-raid sirens signal the beginning of World War II. Melrose offers, "I love this play because it allows us to delve deeply into two of the 20th century's greatest minds as they debate one of the most important questions of our existence. Today when we are bombarded daily by people on television screaming at each other about politics and religion, I find it uplifting and reassuring to watch two people whose intellectual curiosity and respect for each other's humanity trumps their need to be right."

In this witty, intellectual sword fight, the conversation touches on a myriad of topics including God, morality, conscience, sex and the meaning of life. In the roles of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis, respectively, are Robert Dorfman-most recently seen as the haughty Professor Serebryakov in Uncle Vanya this fall-and Peter Christian Hansen-who appeared in dual roles in last summer's lauded production of Clybourne Park. Rounding out the cast is actor and author Tom Hegg (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet) who provides the voice of the unseen BBC announcer.

The artistic team includes Michael Locher (Set Designer), Amy Schmidt (Costume Designer), Frank Butler (Lighting Designer), Reid Rejsa (Sound Designer), Lucinda Holshue (Voice and Dialect), Jo Holcomb (Dramaturg) and Michele Hossle (Stage Manager).

On the morning of September 3, 1939-two days after the German army invaded Poland and Europe is about to be engulfed by World War II--, legendary psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, suffering from terminal cancer, invites young writer and professor C.S. Lewis to his London homE. Lewis assumes Freud is upset about having been satirized by Lewis in a recent book. But Freud has a different-and much more surprising-agenda.

Freud's Last Session begins preview performances on February 25, opens February 28 and continues through March 16 in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater. Single tickets start at $24 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

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