Theatre Review: “Freud’s Last Session” at Theatrical Outfit

I'll be frank with you. I'm not a reviewer for theatrical productions as I've just not seen all that many but I will tell you when I, as a normal theatre going patron, enjoy a good show and will recommend it to others as is the case with Theatrical Outfit's (Atlanta, Georgia) production of Mark St. Germain's play "Freud's Last Session" (suggested by "The Question of God" by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.) as directed by Jessica Phelps West. Having never heard of the play prior to seeing it (despite the fact that it is one of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows) none of this has deterred me from seeing the play as it pits the minds of Sigmund Freud with that of C.S. Lewis and that alone was enough to get me interested.

The two person "chess match" as I like to call it pits these two great minds against one another in a battle of religious ideologies. David De Vries is mesmerizing as the practically on his death bed Freud while Andrew Benator's personal touches and flourishes as Lewis make for one of the most interesting battle of whit that I've ever seen. A lot of this can be attributed to St. Germain's flawless play and word play as despite the time period that the play takes play in, the play comes off as timeless and hip to a "new age" of thinking (especially about religion and its place in the world). Kudos must also be handed down to director West who allow the actors to use their surroundings and each other as a spring board to move their psychological chess pieces across the game board that's totally in their own heads. De Vries and Benator turn this session into not only a battle of religious thinking but of a comedic romp of two powerful minds trying to one-up the other.

It's safe to say that Freud and Lewis were two of the greatest philosophical minds of their time (and of history in general) and that they had such polarizing differences in opinions in regards to philosophy and religion. This being said it's only natural that someone decided to put them together.

Theatre goers will revel at Theatrical Outfit's outstanding production as a whole. The play will be running until November 13^th at the Balzer Theater at Herren's (84 Luckie St., Atlanta, GA 30303). For more info about the play you can contact the theatre at Ph# 678.528.1500 or visit them on the web at www.theatricaloutfit.org