Shadowlands - in Hawaii

James K. Aina as "C.S. Lewis" and
Hannah Schauer Galli as "Joy Gresham"
Picture source TAG
Shadowlands
by William Nicholson
directed by Melinda Maltby Alvarado
Produced by Laurie Tanoura

One of my good friends and I went to the theater to watch The Actors' Group production of Shadowlands. She has a master's degree in English literature and is a huge movie and theater buff! I could not have picked a better person to attend this play than with her.

The location of this little theater is hard to explain but it reminds me of the city I grew up in. Industrial and urban, it was hard to believe the theater was in Hawaii. The theater itself was very tiny. I do not think that it could accommodate any more than 30 people, if that.

The set and the actors were only a few feet from us, their audience. I did not know whether I would enjoy myself or not. I thus resigned myself to a long afternoon in the dark. I kept looking forward to the dinner we would be going to after the theater.

As soon as the lights were dimmed, "C.S. Lewis" appeared before us and started a soliloquy about the meaning of God, suffering and love.

From that moment on I was transported back to Oxford, England and I was privy to the private life of one our greatest English writers.


Real life Lewis and Gresham. Picture source here

I an not by any stretch of the imagination a theater aficionado and do not claim to be able to review a play of this depth. But I can safely say, in my humble opinion, the acting of Mr. James Aina was profound in feeling. You can see that the actor looks nothing like the real Mr. Lewis. Yet I felt that he truly captured Lewis' true spirit.

We spend a captivating hour and a half before we had a 15 minute intermission. I was actually sorry to see them take a break. The second half could not have started soon enough for me. Yet, I knew this was the sad part that was coming up. In anticipation of the sadness, some of the actors and stagehands passed out tissues to a few people. It takes a lot to make me cry, especially in public. I did not feel I needed a tissue. However, I should have remembered who I went to the theater with...none other than my soft-hearted friend.

I found the background surrounding the Lewis-Gresham union very curious. I did not remember it being a marriage of convenience at first. My friend and I were quite perplexed as to why such a moral man like C.S. Lewis would accept to enter into such a marriage. I guess I will have to read more about it to find out.

I remember watching the 1993 movie of the same name and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. I remember feeling that it was a dreary movie with regard to the story line. It appears my memory was playing a trick on me because that is not how it was at all. It was a combination of humor, lighthearted teasing and banter and of course, tragic. In fact, after the play ended my friend remarked that this production was too close to the movie.

The actors were available to greet the exiting audience and I would have liked to have congratulated them all. But my friend was in a hurry to get out of there and go to dinner. I did get a chance during the intermission to congratulate the director on her magnificent job.

The play closes on May 11th for those of you in Hawaii who would like to spend quality time at the theater. I highly recommend it.