BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//EVDB//www.eventful.com//EN VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:The Screwtape Letters' C.S. Lewis' 110th Birthday Celebra tion in Chicago at The Mercury Theater - Eventful BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20081204T200000 DTSTAMP:20081127T074828Z SUMMARY:The Screwtape Letters' C.S. Lewis' 110th Birthday Celebration DESCRIPTION:THE SMASH HIT PRODUCTION THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS\nWILL CELEB RATE C.S. LEWIS’ 110th BIRTHDAY AT THE MERCURY THEATER ON THURSDAY\, DECEMBER 4\n\n \n\nSpecial birthday bash performance will feature a p anel discussion with \n\nC.S. Lewis experts and cake and coffee for th e audience\n\n \n\n \n\nChicago - THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS\, t he hit drama based on C.S. Lewis’ classic novel\, now playing at The Mercury Theater\, 3745 N. Southport Avenue\, will host a birthday cel ebration in honor of C.S. Lewis’ 110th birthday on Thursday\, Decemb er 4. Following the 8 p.m. performance\, a panel of leading C.S. Lew is experts will discuss his influence as one of the most provocative t heologians of all time. Audience members will also be invited to enjo y birthday cake and coffee provided by Cullen’s Bar and Grill. \n\ n \n\nThe panel will include co-creator and star Max McLean\; co-creat or and director Jeffrey Fiske\; Sandy Rios\, host of The Sandy Rios Sh ow on Chicago’s Christian Talk Radio\, WYLL 1160 AM\; Dr. Jerry Root \, C.S. Lewis scholar\, Assistant Professor at Wheaton College\, and e ditor of The Quotable Lewis and author of C.S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil\; Marjorie Mead\, Associate Director of the Wade Center at Wheato n College. The Wade Center houses the largest collection of C. S. Lew is’ papers and archives in the world (including his writing desk and the wardrobe that inspired the Chronicles of Narnia)\; and C. Ben Mit chell\, Ph.D.\, Associate Professor of Bioethics & Contemporary Cultur e at Trinity International University and a previous member of the Tem pleton Oxford Summer Symposium on Religion and Science. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS\, which had sold-out runs in New York and Washington\, D.C.\, recently made its Chicago premiere in October and has extended into Ja nuary. \n\n \n\nIn addition to the December 4 celebration\, THE SCREW TAPE LETTERS also plans to honor Lewis’ actual birthday on November 29 by offering special $35 tickets for the first 110 callers who book tickets for performances Thanksgiving weekend.\n\n \n\nPresented by Fe llowship for the Performing Arts and adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Fiske and Max McLean\, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is set in an office in he ll. The play follows a senior devil\, Screwtape\, and his secretary\, Toadpipe\, as they train an apprentice demon\, Wormwood\, on how to ⠀œundermine faith and prevent the formation of virtues” in a young m an who has just converted to Christianity.\n\n \n\nCritics have raved that the show is “Very smart…richly rewarding…exuberant theatric ality!\,” (Chris Jones\, Chicago Tribune)\, “Phenomenal! Sizzling entertainment…wonderfully clever. Sensational!\,” (Hedy Weiss\, Chicago Sun-Times)\, “A first rate production…Terribly entertainin g… Screwtape boils over with wit” (Jayne Blanchard\, The Washingto n Times)\, a “Hell of a good time…imaginative theatricality…wond erful performances” (Frank Scheck\, New York Post)\, “Sly\, funny\ , handsomely produced” (Celia Wren\, Washington Post) and “A thoug ht-provoking\, engaging\, entertaining\, intelligent\, bitingly satiri cal and funny exploration of profound issues of right and wrong\,” ( Daniel Kelley\, NYTheatre.com.)\n\n\nWhen first published in 1942. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS brought immediate fame to C.S. Lewis\, a little kno wn Oxford don whose field of study was Medieval English and literature . Over the past sixty-five years its wit and wisdom have made it one of his most widely read and influential works. One of the intellectua l giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Ch ristian writer of his day\, C.S. Lewis was a Fellow and Tutor of Engli sh literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University\, a position he held until his retirement. His major contr ibutions in literary criticism\, children’s literature\, fantasy lit erature\, and popular theology brought him international renown. He w rote more than thirty books\, allowing him to reach a vast audience\, and his works continue to attract millions of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include: The Chro nicles of Narnia\, Out of the Silent Planet\, and Mere Christianity.\n \n \n\nThe initial production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS opened at Theat re 315 in New York City in January 2006 for a limited three-week run. Due to popular demand it ran for eleven sold-out weeks. After buildin g on its success it reopened in the fall of 2007 at the Theatre at St. Clement’s for another twelve sold-out weeks to rave reviews from au diences and critics alike. In April 2008 it transferred to The Shakesp eare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre in Washington\, D.C. for a five week run. Again it played to sold out and standing room-only aud iences. \n\n \n\nTHE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is directed by Jeffrey Fiske and stars Max McLean as Screwtape and Yvonne Gougelet as Toadpipe. Sc enic design is by Cameron Anderson\, costumes are by Michael Bevins\, lighting by Tyler Micoleau\, and sound is by Bart Fasbender. For more biographical or production information\, visit www.ScrewtapeOnStage.c om.\n\n \n\nThe performance schedule for THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is Wedn esdays at 8pm\, Thursdays at 8pm\, Fridays at 8pm\, Saturdays at 4pm a nd 8pm\; and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range in price from $29.00 to $4 8.50. Tickets are available by calling The Mercury Theater Box Office at 773.325.1700\, TicketMaster at 312.902.1500\, or visiting www.tick etmaster.com. Discounted tickets for students and groups of 15 or mor e are also available by calling 773.477.7666. \n\n \n\n### LOCATION:The Mercury Theater @ Illinois, United States SEQUENCE:1227772108 UID:E0-001-017546196-8 URL:http://eventful.com/E0-001-017546196-8 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR