LifeHouse Theater Puts on a C.S. Lewis Classic

REDLANDS >> Local audiences converged at the LifeHouse Theater on May 15 to enjoy and celebrate the opening of the the theater's newest production "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". This production will continue each weekend until June 12. Brady Huffman, the executive producer of the play, has lived in Redlands for five years and has been producing plays at this specific theater for just as long. This one stands as his seventh production in total. Most of the actors are recruited from the Inland Empire and undergo an audition process that spans a few days. Huffman mentioned that one of the biggest differences between his production of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and others' was really capturing the regality of the lion character "Aslan" while maintaining animal traits. Other productions typically use a puppet for this character. "It was important for me that Aslan was a person, a human being; someone that we could interact with." Jeff Duwitt has been with the theater since 1992. He first served as a volunteer and eventually climbed up to the position of general manager. He says "When we first began, we were doing bull shows up at Campus Crusade in the San Bernardino hills." "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" actually started there and was refined into a musical later. The theater has done a bit of moving but has stayed in Redlands ever since the transition from San Bernardino in 2000. Appreciation and support from the local populace has allowed LifeHouse Theater to stay in business and continue producing shows.