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C.S. Lewis' THE GREAT DIVORCE coming to Cleveland March 14 & 15

Max
McLean, Artistic Director of Fellowship for the Performing Arts,
announces that C.S. Lewis’ THE GREAT DIVORCE will be presented at the
Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square, 1511 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland, on Friday,
March 14 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.  This
journey to Heaven and Hell is a provocative exploration of human nature, featuring
vivid characters drawn with Lewis’ trademark wit. 



THE GREAT DIVORCE National Tour premiered in Phoenix and will tour across
the country in 2014.  The
Arizona Republic
raved
that THE GREAT DIVORCE is "Fascinating…Brings Lewis to life with
lively wit and generous humor!" and World Magazine hailed the
production as "World class theater. Rises to the challenge, raising
questions of eternal significance with disarming ease. Fantastic!"



Fellowship
for the Performing Arts also produces the nationally acclaimed hit THE
SCREWTAPE LETTERS
, which is in its seventh year after appearing in over 50
major cities throughout the United States. Over 350,000 theatergoers have seen THE
SCREWTAPE LETTERS
over the course of its National Tour, now in its fourth
year, and in successful sit-down productions in New York, Chicago and
Washington, D.C. Following the overwhelming success of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS,
McLean conceived the idea to adapt THE GREAT DIVORCE for the stage.

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"This is
Lewis at his imaginative best," says McLean. In THE GREAT DIVORCE, several
of Lewis' most fascinating characters are invited to take a bus ride from Hell
or purgatory to the edge of Paradise. But the provocative question the play
asks is: Will they like it? Will they choose to go back? Are the doors of
Hell really locked from the inside?

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Over
a dozen witty characters tell this fantastical
morality tale about good and evil. On the bus is a man who is going to demand
his “rights”, a woman who can't stop grumbling, a gentleman who “likes” Heaven
but staying there means giving up his precious pet lizard, and a carpetbagger
who has seen it all and believes Heaven and Hell are just a propaganda stunt
run by the same people. As each ghost is welcomed by a celestial spirit, the
choice of staying or going back brings vivid clarity to the “great divorce”
between Heaven and Hell. 



"There
are only two kinds of people in the end," Lewis writes in THE GREAT
DIVORCE
, "those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom
God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"  THE GREAT DIVORCE
remains one of Lewis' most influential works and rightly earns its place among
classics such as The Lion, The Witch and The WardrobeThe
Screwtape Letters
 and Mere Christianity



THE GREAT DIVORCE stars Tom Beckett (Bobby BolandEpic
Proportions
 and The Father on Broadway and “Elbridge
Gerry” in HBO's John Adams), Joel Rainwater (The Lion King,
National Tour)
and Christa Scott-Reed (The Pitmen Painters on
Broadway).



 



Fellowship
for the Performing Arts is based in New York City with Max McLean as Founder
and Artistic Director.  Adapted by McLean and Brian Watkins, THE GREAT
DIVORCE
is directed by Bill Castellino, with the creative team including
Executive Producer and General Manager Ken Denison of Aruba Productions, Scenic
Designer Kelly James Tighe, Costume Designer Nicole Wee and Lighting Designer
Michael Gilliam. Original Music and Sound Design are by John Gromada with
Projections by Chris Kateff.



 



Fellowship
for the Performing Arts' production of THE GREAT DIVORCE celebrates the
legacy of C.S. Lewis’ profoundly influential life and honors the 50th
anniversary of his death on November 22, 1963.  In 2013, on that date,
Lewis received one of Britain's highest honors, a memorial in Poets' Corner
joining such legends as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dickens.



THE GREAT DIVORCE will play on Friday,
March 14 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.  Tickets
are $29 to $59.  Student seats are $25 (student ID required). For groups
of 10 or more (including student groups) call 866.476.8707.



To
purchase tickets, visit www.greatdivorceonstage.com, call
216.241.6000 or visit the State Theatre Box Office at 1519 Euclid Ave.
on Mondays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 9
p.m.






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