Photo Flash: SCREWTAPE LETTERS Celebrates 200 Performances

 THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, the provocative and wickedly witty theatrical adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon's point of view, celebrated its 200th performance at The Westside Theatre, 407 West 43rd Street, New York on November 1.
 
"We are delighted by the way New York audiences have embraced C. S. Lewis's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS," says Executive Producer Ken Denison. "They have been incredible. We anticipate being here for quite some time so everyone can see this wonderful piece of theater."
 
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 alike 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 New York Times writes "The Devil has rarely been given his due more perceptively and eruditely"; New York Post called it "As entertaining as it is thought-provoking...hell of a good time"; "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!"
Prior to coming to New York, 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.  Last fall it embarked on a national tour delighting capacity houses in San Francisco, Phoenix, Louisville, Chattanooga, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston and Austin.
 
The book's success as a piercing insight into humanity's bent toward evil is due to Lewis' lucid capacity to make his readers squirm in self recognition.  When first published in 1942, it brought immediate fame to this little-known Oxford don, including the cover of Time Magazine. 
 
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is still one Lewis' most influential works, along with such other classics as The Chronicles of Narnia including The Lion,The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity.
 
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."
 
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 at 8pm; Wednesday Matinee at 2pm; Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm and Sundays at 3pm and 7pm.  Student Tickets are available for $27, cash only, at the Box Office.  Valid ID must be presented, limit two tickets per ID.  Individual Tickets are $75 each with premium tickets set at $95.  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.