Shadowlands
by William Nicholson

FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY!
Friday and Saturday, March 10, 11, 17 and 18, 2006
8 PM
Unison Arts and Learning Center in New Paltz
Unison Arts Partner for MMSC performances - Mayo Consulting Services
Admission: $11 - Unison members and $15 non-members
Call 255-1559 for reservations
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For many years his life has followed the same comfortable patterns.
He is a teacher and a writer, a pipe-smoking bachelor who lives in his booklined Oxford home.
From his childrens' books, his science fiction and his pop theology, he has gained a following, and he gives comforting talks about man's place in God's plans.
Then the most extraordinary thing takes place.
He falls in love.

Shadowlands is the story, based on fact, of the autumnal romance involving the British writer C. S. Lewis and the divorced American poet, Joy Gresham. When Lewis meets the outspoken Gresham, his sheltered Oxford life is upended.
 
“Engrossing, entertaining... literate, well-crafted and discreetly brilliant,” writes the New York Post. “Shadowlands poses classic questions about God, pain and love,” says the San Francisco Chronicle, “but mostly it makes you determined to embrace life. You can’t ask much more of a play than that.”
 
Directed by RoseMarie Navarra (director of last season's WIT), Shadowlands will feature a stellar cast headed by William Connors as C.S. Lewis and Christine Crawfis as Joy Gresham, along with many MMSC favorites including Don Wildy, Laurence Carr, Bill Peckham, and Doug Woolley along with newcomer Kai Beck.

The cast and director of MMSC's Shadowlands. Photo credit: Marlis Momber

 

Playwright William Nicholson began his career as a BBC documentary film producer and went on to write several award-winning TV screenplays, including Shadowlands. His stage adaptation of Shadowlands went on to a year-long run in London where it won the 1990 London Evening Standard Best Play Award, followed by a Tony award-winning run on Broadway. Nicholson was also nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay of the film version, which was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. Nicholson received a second Oscar nomination for his co-writing on Gladiator, and one of his novels for children has won several prestigious awards.

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