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Lafayette Society for Performing Arts will present a Lafayette Theatre Company production of Shadowlands for six performances beginning Friday, November 5 through Sunday, November 14 at Lafayette Society for Performing Arts’ Black Box Theatre.

This Lafayette Theatre Company production features a cast and crew ranging in ages from 12 to mid-sixties.

This Broadway and West End hit is the love story of C.S. Lewis, renowned English author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters – and American poet Joy Davidman.

Jack Lewis is smug in his convictions about God and His plan for the world until Joy and her young son enter his life which leads to an unexpected romance and marriage and a love that must surmount a big obstacle.

“Shadowlands is one of the greatest Christian love stories of our time,” says Director Kevin Goodson. “The show provides a glimpse into the late life of C.S. Lewis as he stumbles into love with a woman surprisingly different than he, yet so much the same.”

“The cast is so different from the show and yet they are so much like the show. C.S. Lewis is played by John Saunders who is a Troup County native who actually studied at Oxford where Lewis taught and has stood in the very home of C.S. Lewis, The Kilns, which plays a major part in the play. Like Lewis, he has studied Christianity extensively and he is so great at communicating the words that Lewis has spoken.”

“Joy Gresham, the woman who falls in love with C.S. Lewis, first from his writing, and then from their meeting, is played by Cathy Wright Hunt. Cathy has been a leading promotor of literature in her time as an English Teacher. She also serves on our school board. She is a force to be reckoned with, just like Joy in the show,” says Goodson.

“Down to the smallest part in the show, the actors are passionate and lively. I cannot wait for our community to experience this great masterpiece. It is a show that I believe all people of faith in our community should definitely come see, because it deals with some truly profound issues that most of us face in our life, but in such a warm, strong, yet loving way.”

If that isn’t enough, the show’s set provides some fantastic glimpses of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia for Joy’s son Douglas, as he tries to understand what heaven is. “I am so thankful that the cast has fallen in love with this show like I did when I first experienced it. It is one of the unsung treasures of theatre,” explains Goodson.

The Lafayette Theatre Company is requiring masks for all patrons during the performances. There is also one socially distanced performance offered on Thursday, November 11.

Guests are welcome to bring their own food and beverages or to buy light refreshments from concessions to enjoy an hour before the show starts, they may do so in the Black Box Theatre or at tables outside. For ticket information and reservations, visit www.LSPArts.org or call 706-882-9909.

Vernon Woods Retirement Community is the Presenting Sponsor for the show.