Tolkien an Examination of a Friendship Between Two Literary Giants At Open Window Theatre

Tolkien by Ron Reed makes it’s U.S. Premiere belatedly at Open window Theatre, a faith based theatre company operating out of their own space in Inver Grove Heights. The play chronicles the friendship of the authors of the beloved Lord of the Rings and Narnia books, J.R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. We do witness and gain insight into the creation of both of those worlds, but the play is not about that, it is about the two mens friendship. The play deals a lot with their religious beliefs and touches on their politics as well. Fans coming hoping for a play about hobbits or lions will be disappointed. But people interested in these two men, in adult friendships, in exploring the genesis of art, and religious beliefs, will be as fascinated with this play as I was. This is not the play to bring your young child or most teenagers who are interested in fantasy fiction. At nearly three hours with an intermission, it is for mature audiences, not because of the suitability of the content but because it requires a thoughtful audience that is curious about interpersonal relationships more than orcs and elves. A good comparison might be the film Shadowlands, which was also a play which I haven’t seen, it tells of C.S. Lewis’s later life after most of the action in this play, but it is for adults who want to know about the man, his relationships and his beliefs.

I was completely captivated by the show and in no small part because of the very strong cast. Shad Cooper plays J.R.R. Tolkien and Caleb Cabiness is C.S. Lewis. Cooper and Cabiness play off each other well, in the early scenes, when they are just getting to know each other, you sense their surprise at actually connecting. Tolkien was somewhat stuck in his ways and Lewis was new to teaching at Oxford. They discover to their delight that they actually get on really well and inspire each others creativity. The growing friendship feels genuine as does their eventual growing apart. Also doing standout work is Corey DiNardo who impressed me last year in Stage North Theatre’s production of Mauritius. Here he plays Charles Williams a member of Tolkien and Lewis’ informal literary club, the Inklings. DiNardo is quiet effective at portraying Williams’ intelligence and perfectly modulates his performance so that we can see why Lewis is taken with him and Tolkien is not.

Director Joe Hendren does a nice job of utilizing Robin McIntyre’s set design which is spacious and easily allows for multiple settings with little scene change activity. There are also some interesting projections designed by Lighting Designer Alex Clark that give a sense of snow or leaves falling, and the faces of fallen friends appearing on the ground, an inspiration for a section in The Lord of the Rings. MaryBeth Schmid captures the period of the play with her excellent costume designs. Hendren creates subtle little flashes throughout that bring to mind imagery or characters from either the Narnia books or Tolkien’s Middle Earth. While the runtime does push the limit a bit, I was never less than fascinated by the play and this production. For anyone interested in these men and their friendship I recommend Ron Reed’s play enthusiastically.

Tolkien runs through March 30th at Open Window Theatre in Inver Grove Heights. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://owtheatre.org/plays/season-11/tolkien/

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