Tickets Now On Sale for 'Christmas With C.S. Lewis'

Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster for "Christmas With C.S. Lewis", a play set in 1962 as C.S. Lewis is hosting a group of Americans who are spending Christmas in the university city of Oxford. With all of the heat indexes spelling caution in making sure that one stays well hydrated during the summer heat, it may feel early to start thinking about Christmas. But, when this play was produced in Birmingham, Alabama last year the demand for tickets was so high, that a second performance date was added to accommodate the ticket sales.

A one-man show featuring Daniel Payne in the role of the staid and respectable Oxford Don, C.S. Lewis. It is a great testament to the British school of acting that Payne is able to command an audience's attention for the full length of the play. Yet, he does so in a way that makes one feel like they've actually met the pleasant C.S. Lewis and have gotten to know him well.

A highly regarded figure in both English literature and Christian apologetics, C.S. Lewis is known for his popular "The Chronicles of Narnia", "The Screwtape Letters", and "Mere Christianity" books among others. And his friendship with the author of "The Lord of the Rings" J.R.R. Tolkien, forms a substantial part of the plot of "Christmas With C.S. Lewis". Which includes an interesting historical detail about Tolkien's first impression of C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".

While a bit more on the periphery, part of the plot of the play, "Christmas With C.S. Lewis" is the trajectory of C.S. Lewis' transition from an atheist to a strong believer in and advocate of Christianity. As a boy who experienced and witnessed extreme bullyism in his boarding school, C.S. Lewis at one point in time in the midst of his atheism even delved into the occult. But, as his interest in the works of the Scottish writer, George MacDonald, who was a pioneer in fantasy literature but also the author of several works on Christian theology, grew, so did C. S. Lewis' interest in Christianity.

A focus of the movie, "Shadowland", C. S. Lewis' friendship, courtship, and marriage of the American writer and divorcee, Joy Davidman, is also a topic of note in the play. As a bit of a colorful character, she is able to draw C.S. Lewis out of his shell to some degree. An enjoyable play that makes for a lovely evening out, "Christmas With C.S. Lewis" is scheduled to be

performed at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center on Thursday, December 05th, 2024 at 7:30PM.

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist.