C.S. Lewis' THE GREAT DIVORCE coming to Glendale Saturday, July 12

Max McLean, Artistic Director of Fellowship for Performing Arts,
announces that C.S. Lewis' THE GREAT DIVORCE will be presented at The
Alex Theatre, 216 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale for two performances
only on Saturday, July 12 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 is touring 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!" The Charleston City Paper called it
"Brilliant...a joy to watch!"
Fellowship for Performing Arts also
produces the nationally acclaimed hit THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, which is
now in the fourth year of its national tour appearing in over 50 major
cities throughout the United States. Over 400,000 theatergoers have seen
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS on tour 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.
"This is Lewis at his imaginative
best," says McLean. "In THE GREAT DIVORCE, several of Lewis' quirky,
hopelessly-flawed characters take a bus ride from Hell to Paradise. But
the bizarre question the play asks is: Will they like it? Will they
prefer Hell to Heaven?  Are the doors of Hell really locked from the
inside?"
Over a dozen witty characters tell this fantastical morality
tale about human choices. On the bus is a man who is going to Heaven 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 pieces and rightly earns its place among
classics such as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Screwtape
Letters and Mere Christianity.
THE GREAT DIVORCE stars Tom Beckett
(Bobby Boland, Epic 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 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 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 Nov. 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 Saturday, July 12 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 greatdivorceonstage.com
or call 818.243.2539.  The Alex Theatre Box Office is open Friday
through Sunday from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. through June 28th and Monday
through Sunday from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. June 28 through July 12.