C.S. + Joy

When C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham (née Davidman) first met in 1952 after having corresponded for two years, he was the philosopher-star, and she the fan, but Lewis was immediately struck by Gresham's intellect and strength of character and viewed her fully as his equal. They became friends and eventually married in 1956, after Gresham had already contracted terminal bone cancer. She died in 1960. Lewis was bereft, trying to piece together his shattered — but not extinguished — Christian faith; profound loss and suffering had shifted from the speculative to the visceral. William Nicholson's Shadowlands is Lewis' and Gresham's love story. He originally wrote it for a 1985 BBC television film; it was adapted for the stage, then made into a feature film, and now it's onstage again via Mustard Seed Theatre. Shadowlands is performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (January 28 through February 13) at Fontbonne University's Fine Arts Theatre (6800 Wydown Boulevard; 314-719-8060 or www.mustardseedtheatre.com). Tickets are $15 to $30.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Jan. 28. Continues through Feb. 13, 2011