FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2008

Lantern Theater Company is thrilled to bring back Anthony Lawton's adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce for a limited engagement run from December 26, 2008 - January 4, 2009. Lewis' own favorite among his works, The Great Divorce is the story of Clive, a hapless professor, and the motley band of malcontents who join him on a very curious bus ride. Journeying between Hell and Heaven, Clive crosses a surprising, wildly inventive landscape drawn by Lewis' philosophical imagination. Satirical and comic, The Great Divorce is a wondrous ride filled with dazzling insight and language.

Beginning with The Screwtape Letters in 2002, Anthony Lawton's C.S. Lewis adaptations have found a home at Lantern Theater Company, the only company in Philadelphia presenting Lewis' work on stage. In addition to its extreme popularity with local audiences creating sold-out houses for multiple seasons, Lawton's work has also achieved much critical success. In 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: "Now this is storytelling. Anthony Lawton holds us rapt - you can feel the intensity of the audience's attention - with his masterful performance in The Great Divorce... The timing of this reprise, for a brief run between the holidays, seems particularly right. The Great Divorce is a show for the new year."

In addition to performing his own adaptation in December, Lawton also appears in the Lantern's all-new adaptation of The Government Inspector from November 21-December 28. During the final days of the run, Lawton will be playing three characters in Nikolai Gogol's play at 11am family matinees and then will shift into playing over a dozen more characters in The Great Divorce in the evenings. This theatrical feat is the perfect fit for Lawton, who was named "Best One-Man Theater" by Philadelphia City Paper, and has been nominated for multiple Barrymore awards as a performer and writer.

The Great Divorce plays for twelve performances only, from December 26, 2008 to January 4, 2009. All tickets are $40, with discounts for Lantern subscribers and groups of 10 or more. The Lantern also provides student rush discounts through $15 at :15, which provides up to 15 tickets to students with valid ID 15 minutes before the performance for just $15. All performances are held at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia, PA. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the box office at 215.829.0395.

About Anthony Lawton
Anthony Lawton received his M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in 1992. Since then, he has acted at theatres in Michigan, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and New York City. Principally, however, he has lived and worked in Philadelphia. Notable roles include Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West, Sam Shepard's True West, Othello, and Twelfth Night (Lantern Theater Company); Of Mice and Men (Walnut Street Theatre); A Prayer for Owen Meany (Arden); This is the Week That Is, Bat Boy, and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1812 Productions); Athol Fugard's Playland (Wilma Theater); 24-Hour Bald Soprano (Brat Productions); The Tempest, A Man for All Seasons, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); and The Devil and Billy Markham, The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters - solo shows he produced under the aegis of his own company, The Mirror. Film: Unbreakable and Invincible. TV: Hack and Cold Case. Lawton has twice been a semi-finalist, and once been a finalist, for the F. Otto Haas Award for Best Emerging Theatre Artist in Philadelphia. In 1999, the Philadelphia City Paper named him the city's "Best One-Man Theater." In 2003, he was a member of the Barrymore-winning Best Ensemble for 1812's production of Bat Boy. Also in 2003, he was awarded an Independence Foundation grant to develop a production of his first original play, Foocy Djanni. This later became The Foocy, which the Lantern produced in 2005, garnering five Barrymore nominations, including Best New Play.

About the Lantern
Founded in 1994 by Charles McMahon and Michael Brophy, Lantern Theater Company has emerged as one of the most successful professional theaters in the Philadelphia region. Lantern Theater Company is committed to an authentic and intimate exploration of the human spirit in its choice of classic, modern and original works. The Lantern commits itself to being a vibrant, contributing member of its community. To that end, each season the Lantern produces four main stage productions, a variety of special events, and Illumination, the Barrymore nominated education program designed to engage local students and adults alike in the world of theater and nurture their own artistic expression. This program reaches the Greater Philadelphia area in four vital ways: outreach in area schools, matinee performances for students, training teaching artists for after school programs, and our audience enrichment series of lectures, discussions, and symposia for each production of our season.

Lantern Theater Company has been in residence at St. Stephen's Theater at 10th & Ludlow Streets in Center City Philadelphia since 1996, managing the performance space and developing it into an affordable multi-purpose performing arts venue. Since the inception of Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, the Lantern has received 12 awards and 54 nominations, including nominations from 2006 to 2008 for the Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service Award. Philadelphia Weekly named the Lantern "Best Theatre Company" for the 2007/08 Season, calling the company's selection of plays "impressively diverse in genre and style." The 2008/09 season at Lantern Theater Company marks the company's 15th year of creating high-quality professional theater in Philadelphia.

Press may arrange for tickets for any performance by calling 215.829.9002 x106.

The Great Divorce
Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis
Adapted and Performed by Anthony Lawton
Design by Janet Embree

Where
Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen's Theater
10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia, PA

Tickets for The Great Divorce
Single Tickets: $40 General Admission, $35 subscribers and groups of 10 or more
By Phone: 215.829.0395
Online: www.lanterntheater.org
In Person: St Stephen's Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets
Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. One hour prior before curtain on performance days.

Calendar
Friday, December 26, 8pm
Saturday, December 27, 8pm
Sunday, December 28, 7pm
Tuesday, December 30, 7pm
Wednesday, December 31, 5pm
Wednesday, December 31, 8pm
Thursday, January 1, 7pm
Friday, January 2, 8pm
Saturday, January 3, 2pm
Saturday, January 3, 7pm
Sunday, January 4, 2pm
Sunday, January 4, 7pm