Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 6, June 2004

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Local actor portrays C.S. Lewis in Taproot's "Shadowlands"

By JAMES BUSH

In Taproot Theatre's current production of "Shadowlands," actor Jeff Berryman faces the twin challenges of portraying a literary figure he greatly admires while reprising a role performed in a successful movie by a famous actor.

But the Maple Leaf resident still relishes the opportunity to portray British author and scholar C.S. Lewis and the touching story of his late-life romantic awakening.

"It's a wonderful opportunity," says Berryman. "It's kind of a scary opportunity as well, just because of the fact that I know there will be a lot of C.S. Lewis people in the audience. Any time people come to a play or a fictionalized story they're familiar with, they come in with expectations."

The story of how 50-something bachelor Lewis corresponded with, met, married and fell in love with American divorcee Joy Gresham does seem a natural for the stage. By the way, the reason "married" appears before "fell in love" in the last sentence is that Lewis first married Gresham, whom he considered a close friend, in a 1956 civil ceremony to enable her to continue living in England.

When she fell ill from cancer that same year, he realized how much he had grown to love her and married her again, this time in a Christian ceremony.

Gresham made a surprising recovery after her cancer went into remission and the couple spent three happy years together. But her cancer returned and she died in 1960; Lewis survived her by just three years.

"It's a wonderful role," says Berryman. "The emotional journey that this character goes on is pretty rich."

Lewis, although also known by many for his "Chronicles of Narnia" children's fantasy books, was England's best-known Christian scholar. Sheltered emotionally since losing his mother in childhood, the love and loss of his relationship with Gresham (played by Nikki Visel Whitfield in the Taproot production) brought him face-to-face with the concept of suffering.

William Nicholson's script brings the audience all these facets of Lewis: his scholarly, bachelor existence, he and Gresham's mutual fascination with one another, his giving into to love and his questioning of God's purpose in the suffering caused by her illness.

Originally written as a British television drama, "Shadowlands" was also adapted into a successful 1993 movie, featuring a riveting turn by Anthony Hopkins as Lewis. While Berryman says saw the movie and admired Hopkins' performance, he adds that "I won't watch it again until after [the play's run] is over. Who needs that kind of comparison?"

Aided by a bit of padding to better simulate the portly Lewis, Berryman says he's also heard tapes of the British writer's speaking voice to aid in his portrayal. However, much of his homework for the role has consisted of reading many of the books Lewis wrote. "The interesting thing about Lewis is a lot of what he wrote had an autobiographical slant to it," he says. "You're really looking into his own heart and his own life."

An accomplished actor and playwright, Berryman has done much of his local stage work at Taproot. The Greenwood-based theater company recently staged world premieres of two of his plays: "The Carrolls of Queen Anne" and "Arthur: The Begetting." The author of the novel, "Leaving Ruin," he has toured extensively with a one-man show based on his book.

"What I discovered was it really made more sense for my own life to write and do that sort of solo tour," he says. "Every creative person has to cobble together what their own creative life is."

Originally from Abilene, Texas, Berryman served on the faculty of Abilene Christian University in the mid-1980s before relocating to the Northwest. He earned his bachelor's degree from Abilene Christian and a graduate degree in directing from the University of Texas.

He and wife, Anjie, have two children, Amy and Daniel. The biggest family problem of late is conflicting rehearsal and performance schedules: 16-year-old Amy is in Roosevelt High School's production of "42nd Street," while 14-year-old Daniel is portraying Danny Zuko in Eckstein Middle School's production of "Grease."

"It's kind of crazy at our house right now," Berryman says, "but very fun."

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Taproot Theatre's production of "Shadowlands" continues through June 19. The theater is located at 204 N. 85th St. in the Greenwood neighborhood. For ticket information and show times and dates, call 781-9707 or visit Taproot's Web site at www.taproottheatre.org.