Senior theatre major Abby Lynn Gillespie is directing a production of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” in Performance Hall for her senior capstone. The sold-out stage production of C.S. Lewis’ classic story opens on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. and closes on March 17. The cast of 22 is made up of students, alumni, staff and others. The majors represented by the cast range from theatre to mathematics to communication to sports management. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” boasts one of the largest casts for a Performance Hall show in recent years.
The casting process began late in the fall semester, and the first table read took place in December. The crew was slowly added over the next month as work began in earnest. The current spring semester stagecraft class, under the instruction of Dr. Paul Radford, assisted with some of the set construction. They also were responsible for the White Witch’s wand and a few costume pieces. Notable crew members include the stage manager Ellie Lotz, lighting designer Peyton Robinson, fight choreographer Lyvia Miller, set designer Alexia Bainbridge, costume designer Adora Wood and props master Kaveh Hashemi. Each crew member brought their own unique experiences and skills to the production process.
Justin Keith is playing Peter Pevensie. Students may recognize Justin from his roles in “Our Town,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Blind Date” and perhaps most famously as Argus in “Argus and the Maze of Myth.” Justin was involved in the production of “The Sound of Music” last school year. He is a senior studying ministry and leadership with both a theatre and an I.T. minor. He also serves on the ISCEC as the chorister.
Susan Pevensie is portrayed by senior mathematics major Mia Kane. This is Mia’s first performance at BJU. Her family are missionaries to Cambodia and Mia, like her siblings also attending BJU, speaks fluent Khmer, the Cambodian national language. Mia recently celebrated her engagement to Ethan Lee. Mia’s favorite part of acting in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is “seeing the magic of this story come to life through the creativity of the cast, crew and amazing director.”
Micah Brewster plays Edmund Pevensie. Micah is a biblical studies major who has been involved in drama and theatre for several years and through high school. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is not his first foray into the works of C.S. Lewis. He previously performed in “The Horse and His Boy.” He is a member of the Concert Choir and sang in the villager chorus in “The Elixir of Love.” Micah appreciates the opportunity to tell the story of Edmund, citing parallels between the character and his own life experiences.
Lucy Pevensie is played by Erika Johnson. Erika graduated with a degree in theatre and is a graduate assistant for the theatre department. She has been involved with productions in Performance Hall for a number of years. Her first show in Performance Hall was “A Christmas Carol” in 2014. She was the assistant director of “Romeo and Juliet” and played Marianne in “Sense and Sensibility” for her capstone. She also portrayed Susy Hendrix in the thriller “Wait Until Dark” and acted with the Greenville Shakespeare Company. Erika believes that “telling stories through theatre brings people closer together,” and she enjoys experiencing that with people she might not have interacted with otherwise.
December graduate Arianna Pait plays Jadis, the White Witch. She graduated with a degree in theatre and last October she directed her capstone, a production of “Sorry, Wrong Number” and “Blind Date.” She acted in “Our Town,” numerous Bake-Offs, “Romeo and Juliet,” and played the leading lady Roxane in “Cyrano de Bergerac.”
William Klapperich stars as the Great Lion, Aslan. Will is a senior theatre major from Florida with his capstone coming up later this semester. Will performed in “Beauty and the Beast,” “Twelfth Night,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Back to Wonderland,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Argus and the Maze of Myth” and several Bake-Offs. This year alone he will have performed in “King Lear,” “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” his capstone and “Comedy of Errors.” He said his favorite thing about being in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is “getting to bring beloved characters to life and finding the nuance in doing so for this show with this cast.”
The show is produced by BJU’s artistic director, Mr. David Schwingle. He provided valuable input into scene design and guided the production process, ensuring Abby Lynn’s vision became a reality.
