Moncton – The Crandall Theatre production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was sold out for their opening night on Friday.

Crowds filled Crandall University’s halls this weekend as visitors came from across the region to take in the student-led stage production of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The adaptation, written and directed by sophomore Emmelia Ohlhauser, delighted audiences with its creative retelling of Lewis’ classic children’s tale.

“When I agreed to do this two years ago, I never imagined something like this would happen,” Ohlhauser recounted on Friday evening, introducing the play to a sold out auditorium. “The support of faculty, staff, and the community has just been amazing!”

The commitment of all involved as apparent from the outset as the lights went down, the actors took their places and the Pevensie children came onstage. The crowd delighted at lighthearted comments from beavers, cried at the loss of the great Lion, and gasped as the resurrected Aslan dramatically defeated the White Witch.

In all, the production attracted more than 1,000 attendees over its three weekend performances.

Communication Arts – Theatre

The cast and crew of the production were made up of students from nearly every program at Crandall University, including representatives from the school’s brand new Communication Arts program, which launched in the Fall of 2017 in partnership with Rosebud School of the Arts in Rosebud, Alberta.

“This year’s production surpassed my expectations,” said Dr. Jon Ohlhauser, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Crandall University. “We knew we wanted to produce a show in the first year of our program but we did not realize we would receive such broad interest and support from Crandall University students. All of the students involved on the acting and production side needed to be enthusiastically congratulated for an excellent job on this first show. I certainly did not expect 1000 people to attend the performances especially since the show overlapped with the production happening at the Capital Theatre! I can’t wait to see what happens in the years ahead!”

To learn more about Crandall University’s Communication Arts – Theatre Program, visit https://www.crandallu.ca/communication-arts-theatre/

For more on the Crandall Theatre production, visit https://crandalltheatre.wordpress.com/

Crandall University is Eastern Canada’s leading liberal arts university devoted to the Christian faith. Crandall offers undergraduate degrees in Arts, Science, Business, Education, and Technical Education as well as graduate degrees in Organizational Management and Education. Founded in 1949, Crandall University is provincially chartered to grant degrees and certificates, and is located on a beautiful 200-acre campus in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Photos Courtesy of Crandall Theatre