CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. In the real world, they were compatriots, fellow professors, members of the Inklings writing group, occasional pranksters, and good friends. In the world of fantasy literature, their followers and fans rival the Tupac/Biggie rivalry. I will admit I'm on Team Tolkien, but let me back up a moment for some background before weighing in on the play itself.
The Lovely Bride and I had a busy Saturday, with Tai Chi class in the morning, a light lunch at the Greenwood restaurant Razzi's, then joining up with friends John and Janice for this play. Then we had additional errands (grocery shopping, getting more bird seed and cat litter), before returning home. At our age, that's a big day.
And we got to break in the Isaac Studio Theatre, which is a nice, smaller venue than the main Taproot Stage. I've described Taproot's main theater as a jewel box with a thrust stage and 225 seats. The Isaac is even smaller with 150-some seats laid out in a more traditional manner with a high-rise of comfortable seats looming over a small stage. Perfect venue for a play about two men in a bar. Lewis and Tolkien reunite after many years apart at the Eagle & Child, their favorite pub, to reminisce, reconnect and settle a few old scores.
Now, my mental image of Tolkien, supported by interviews over the years, is that of a scholarly Hobbit. Brilliant in his chosen field (Middle and Old English), who in his spare time side wrote what would become defining books of British Literature. He sits there in a highbacked chair, smoking a pipe and discussing Beowulf. Not something for dynamic playgoing, I will admit. So I had make some strong mental adjustments for both the Tolkien and Lewis as presented on the stage.
Jeff Allen Pierce's Tolkien is much more animated. Gruff, grumpy, and defensive. More conservative and Catholic than usually presented. Tolkien and Lewis were both religious, but from his writing, I always put Lewis down as being more hard-core to his faith. Narnia, Perelandra, and the Screwtape Letters all drip with Christianity. Tolkien's works were also extremely moral, but he lacked all the bells and whistles, or rather, the allegory, found in Lewis's works. The play's Tolkien is much more emotional, loud, pedantic, and often loud.
Lewis (Peter Cook), on the other hand, is more aloof, controlled, and professorial. He comes off as the more cerebral of the two, more in command of his emotions. He is more in line with what I think of as a Oxford Don. He comes off as man hurt by the end of their friendship, but has let the years scab over it, while Pierce's Tolkien still grapples with the situation. Of the two, he is the better man.
Both actors are good in their roles, as is Chloe Michele as Veronica, a waitress of the bar, whose character is often referee and audience for their set-too. She pops in regularly both to take the edge off both men, and break up the back-and-forth as they argue.
The play succeeds when talking about the relationships between two men who have grown apart. The Lovely Bride got it and was moved the by tragedy of their breakup and the hope of restoration. For my part, I had to turn off the part of my brain where I kept comparing the two against my imaginary versions and instead broke them down into component parts - effectively, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar. And in those terms, it worked.
Also, forgive this pedantic digression, but when you say someone is an apologist, it does not mean in these circumstances that they are sorry for what they may have done. Rather they are offering a reasoned argument for someone. That's unclear in many cases, but the Apology of St. Paul (Acts 22), for example, is not that he's sorry for being a Christian, but a thoughtful explanation of Christianity. We toss the word around here a bit assuming that the audience would pick it up correctly, but I don't know if that's the case.
Anyway. Was it a worthwhile afternoon? Yep. Did it work as a play? Also yes. Should you go see it? Yes - the Saturday matinee had a full house and has already been extended two weeks. But as history, even as historical fiction, it fails to live up to expectations. And mind you, expectations were high.
More later,
