AndrewAndrew

C.S. Lewis may have written the original text, but this show belongs to Max McLean who had a hand in almost every step of the creative process behind this production. He plays the titular role, he helped to adapt and co-direct it, and perhaps most significantly he founded The Fellowship of the Performing Arts, the organization which produced the play. The Fellowship of the Performing Arts, whose mission statement is “To produce theatre from a Christian worldview that is engaging to a diverse audience*”, has toured the country extensively with the show and has amassed praise and accolades far and wide. People have been flocking to see it, packing houses in Phoenix, Louisville, Chattanooga, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston and Dallas. It began its run in New York two years ago, so how does the production fair returning to its place of birth after this successful tour?

As outspoken opponents of organized religion, reviewing The Screwtape Letters may at first seem like a conflict of interests. However, since one assumes from the mission statement that the goal of such a production is, if not to convert, at least to persuade the heathens to consider a more “Christian” lifestyle, then we are perfectly suited for the job. Besides the majority of our review rests upon what we saw on stage opening night, and not our predisposition to resist Christianity. However, one cannot divorce the message from the art** surrounding it.
Lewis wrote the novel after hearing Adolf Hitler appeal to England for allegiance. Lewis, almost convinced by the eloquence of the speech enticing England to ally themselves with the Third Reich, was prompted to write a response employing his unique brand of Christian satire. The original novel consisted of correspondence between a senior demon ‘Screwtape’ and his nephew ‘Wormwood’, a new and inexperienced ‘tempter’. Screwtape offers guidance to Wormwood in the art of corrupting his first human soul; a task which proves to be intricate and involved enough to occupy an hour and a half of stage time.

The text is terribly thought provoking; along the way we are treated to a number of enticing mental morsels, but because each course is served separately there is a lack of cohesion and a failure to sate our appetite. It approaches moments of clarity, the sort of magnificent moment that would instantly force one to reexamine their moral compass. The production never quite reaches the sort of realization through metaphor that is the mainstay climax of quality science fiction and fantasy i.e. “Soylent Green is people!” or “We finally really did it. You maniacs! You blew it up!”. These near misses come closest to hitting the nail on the head when a contemporary edit has clearly been made; the references to popular culture are clever but perhaps too subtle. If they are attempting to convert, they come close but the miss the mark repeatedly.

Still these near misses do entertain the intellect. In what is either Lewis’ prescience or a bit of crafty retrofitting, Screwtape explores what will later be one of The Third Reich’s legacies: “The Banality of Evil”. You can do more harm by inaction, than by active malice, is something we should all hear now and again. “Get off the couch and make something of yourself”, McLean seems to say as he mime’s blankly flipping through television channels. In another memorable passage Screwtape deconstructs how media-made standards of beauty serve to frustrate both genders and undermine their mutual happiness, thus fostering resentment among otherwise happily married couples. Who knew Lewis was such a feminist? In what might be our favorite moment Screwtape applauds Churches for being some of the best places to spread evil, either by instilling sinful pride in the pious, or shallow misunderstanding in the sheep-like flock. This is by far the closest we come to the “Ah-Ha” moment, the result of following a bizarre premise to it’s logical conclusion, like finding that shocking and inverted truth in a great episode of the “Twilight Zone”.

As for the non-rhetorical elements of the production; McLean presents an engaging and spooky portrayal of an assistant to Satan. He’s mastered the voice and language of Lewis’ Screwtape but the unnecessary addition of amplification does more harm that good in conveying this voice to the audience. Many of the sound effects fit the mood of the show well, such as when Screwtape rants about the merits of noise while competing with wall of sound compromised of radio announcements, car alarms, cell phones, and street noise. The subtle use of a Geiger counter at one point taps into a Pavlovian fear center in the brain, dormant since learning about the horrors of the second world war. The lack of nuance in the audio mixing keeps the audience at bay, barring any real immersion into the world before us. The set, almost a character itself, is cleverly devised with a number of built in sight gags. The costumes, reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil, are fantastical enough; where else is there to go with a C.S. Lewis text but to the phantasmagorical? However, like the letters which are delivered one at a time from a disembodied antagonist, each element remains a separate, in-cohesive collection of quality parts which fail to fit together properly. It’s passable theatre but nothing to write home about.

* The title of the production company does little to alert the causal observer to the explicit goals of the organization, a fact which does not leave us without lingering suspicions.

** If they happen to be the same gender one can’t marry them either.

The Screwtape Letters
Westside Theatre – Upstairs
407 W. 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036.
Ticket Price: $69; $95 VIP
Ticket Information: Telecharge: 1-800-432-7250 or 212-239-6200