A STORYTELLING MASTER
“Clive Staples Lewis, famously described himself as “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” And it’s that reluctance, along with the ASTONISHING LUCIDITY of his prose, the open-hearted spirit of his storytelling and the exquisite rigor behind his intellect, that have combined to make C.S. Lewis pretty much EVERY ATHEIST’S FAVORITE CHRISTIAN thinker…Very many were at the packed Mercury Theatre HIGHLY ENGAGED by Max McLean.”
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“Max McLean chronicles Lewis’ journey from determined atheist to Christian believer with such WIT, GRACE, BRAININESS and ECONOMY that those on either side of the ‘God spectrum’ are SURE TO DELIGHT in it…McLean instantly convinces you that you are in the presence of C.S. Lewis himself…you can remain an avid doubter even as you enjoy its BRISTLING, PROVOCATIVE, HIGHLY-ENTERTAINING arguments.”
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
INTRIGUING COMPANY
“Lewis’ fiercely considered intellectual reason makes the stuffy Oxford don intriguing company.”
The New Yorker
UNCANNILY SPOT ON PERFORMANCE
“McLean’s uncannily spot on performance does justice to Lewis’ highly theatrical manner…McLean is not only faithful to the author’s voice, but he also achieves Lewis’ standards for METICULOUS DETAIL
…which has fascinated so many.”
TheatreMania
ONE TERRIFIC PIECE OF THEATER
“…smart, fascinating and satisfying…
AMAZING MOMENTS ON STAGE…McLean gives us a Lewis that immediately draws us in… We know going in how the play ends…But how the play gets there is the intriguing thing…purely as dramatic character arc, the conversion story in C.S. Lewis Onstage is CAPTIVATING.”
DC Metro Arts
HUGELY MOVING
“McLean has a rich stage presence and a MASTERFUL command of timing . . . I found the play’s conversion account both SPIRITUALLY INVIGORATING and hugely moving.”
Washington Post
SIZZLE ON STAGE
“AMONG THE FINEST SKILLED ACTORS working in American theatre today . . . with subtly and self-depreciating humor…Max McLean makes subtle and complex material sizzle on stage.”
Chicago Critic
BRILLIANT PORTRAYAL
“In McLean’s brilliant portrayal, Lewis’ wry sense of humor is front and center. Lewis is articulate, erudite, insightful and ABOVE ALL FUNNY. ”
Around the Town Chicago
“McLean ‘inhabits’ Lewis…Witty, warm, erudite and VERY FUNNY IN A DELIGHTFULLY SELF-DEPRECATORY WAY… This performance is ENTERTAINING, STIMULATING and mentally enriching.”
Splash Magazine
GREAT COMEDIC CHARACTER
“Lewis was a talented writer and a careful scholar. As played by McLean, he’s also a great comedic character.”
Indianapolis Monthly
SPELLBINDING PERFORMANCE
“A PERSONABLE and INTRIGUING portrait of the scholar. BRAINY RANTS, re-enacts debates with his friends . . . before dropping some ironic retort that LEAVES EVERYONE CHUCKLING.”
World Magazine
A SMART PRODUCTION
“C.S. Lewis Onstage: The Most Reluctant Convert, opens with a riff against a cruel, indifferent and seemingly meaningless universe reminiscent of a Woody Allen monologue…McLean delivers A PERFORMANCE that is WORTHY OF ITS SUBJECT…a story about an immensely creative mind, arriving at the threshold of faith.”
The Weekly Standard
