"The Screwtape Letters" coming to Glendale Jan. 15

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, will be presented by Fellowship for the Performing Arts at the Alex Theatre, 216 North Brand Boulevard in Glendale, CA in a limited engagement on Saturday, January 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. This engagement follows a successful nine-month run (nearly 300 performances) at the Westside Theatre in New York City. Tickets go on sale November 22.

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS runs 80 minutes without intermission. 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.” The play follows His Abysmal Sublimity Screwtape, played by Max McLean (2009 recipient of Chicago’s Jeff Award for Solo Performance), and his creature-demon secretary Toadpipe, as they train an apprentice demon, Wormwood, on how to entice the mind of a human “patient” toward damnation. The actors’ combined skills seduce their unsuspecting soul down the “soft, gentle path to hell.”

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.”

Executive Produced and Managed by Ken Denison, Aruba Productions. 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 Saturday, January 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $29 - $89. Student tickets are available for $25 each; limit two per customer, at the Box Office. Valid ID must be presented. All tickets are subject to facility fees. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 818.243.ALEX, visit www.alextheatre.org, or visit www.ScrewtapeonStage.com. For groups of 10 or more call 866.476.8707.