WASHINGTON—This year marks the 75th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s beloved children’s fantasy “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” It was the first to be published in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, with “The Magician’s Nephew,” released five years later as a prequel, explaining the backstory of the magical land of Narnia.
In the last 60 years, the series’s popularity spurred TV and film adaptations, as well as radio dramatizations. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” has also seen its moment on stage, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, for the holiday season in 1998.
This year, the Logos Theatre, based in South Carolina, is presenting an original stage adaptation of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” In collaboration with Lewis’s stepson Douglas Gresham, a central figure in the C.S. Lewis Company, Logos Theatre has kept the script faithful to Lewis’s works. After a limited run at the World Stage Theater inside the Museum of the Bible located in Washington, the production will then move to Branson, Missouri, and end the year at the Ark Encounter museum in Williamstown, Kentucky.
Land Beyond the Wardrobe Door
In World War II London, children are being evacuated to the countryside to keep them safe from the bombings taking place in the city. The Pevensie children—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—take the train to live with a stranger they know only as the Professor.
Inside the Professor’s manor, the children try to stay out of the way and amuse themselves, which can be difficult during rainy days. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy hides in a wardrobe, only to find that the back opens to a wintry world called Narnia. Here, she meets Mr. Tumnus, a faun, and learns about the White Witch, who had cursed the land with eternal winter. Lucy goes back to England and tries to convince her siblings of the existence of this magical place.
Trying to hide from the housekeeper after getting into a spot of trouble, the four siblings find themselves all crammed into the wardrobe. They tumble out on the other side, onto the snowy ground, where they meet strange creatures and bitter cold. They make the acquaintance of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and learn of the fate of Mr. Tumnus and the prophecy to overturn the reign of the White Witch.
Edmund betrays his siblings to the White Witch, and as Aslan, the lion, appears in Narnia, a battle ensues, not just among the Narnian creatures and the Witch’s henchmen, but also a battle for one child’s soul, where a great sacrifice will be warranted to save it.
Big Production, Small Stage
Despite the relatively small stage (the theater has a seating capacity of less than 500), the performers make good use of the space. The use of multiple standalone doors and door frames and floating stairs on wheels creates the illusion that the Professor’s house is large with many rooms and floors. As the maids move these around in coordination with the actors’ movements, this simulates the children exploring one room after another, one floor to the next.
In Narnia, actors on stilts imitate tall trees, letting the audience’s eyes travel upward. The faun’s and the beavers’ homes are cleverly crafted as half domes so that audience members can see what they look like on the outside, and then, as woodland creatures rotate the set, they can see the inside.
At times, actors and performers exit or enter the stage area through the side aisles. In one scene, the audience can fully appreciate the puppetry used for the lion Aslan, as it makes a full loop around the aisles. Moved along by three puppeteers underneath its aluminum and plastic frame, the 8-foot-tall lion is a sight to behold.
Fine Performances
The cast is composed of regulars with the Logos Theatre, which is under the umbrella of The Academy of Arts based in Taylors, South Carolina. The Academy, which has a mission statement of “making the Bible come alive in minds and hearts through the power of storytelling,” has launched past productions of “Prince Caspian” and “The Horse and His Boy”—also from the popular “The Chronicles of Narnia”—and original musical productions of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and Baroness Orczy’s “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” among others.
Emmett Yopp, as Edmund, plays the character to a tee, with a whiny voice and his incessant teasing of poor Lucy. The Professor (Noah Stratton) turns out a convincing performance as the eccentric recluse despite appearing only in a few scenes. In one scene, he makes a humorous comment—“What are they teaching kids these days?”—as he tries to help Peter and Susan see the logic of the possible truth of Lucy’s Narnian adventure.
Perhaps the best scene-stealers are Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, played by Christian Lamas and Jennifer James. Their costumes of multiple hoops of “beaver fur” covering their bodies create a nice flounce and bounce when they jump and rush about the stage, like the busy beavers they are. Mrs. Beaver’s misplaced concern over her material possessions, particularly her sewing machine, while the White Witch’s wolf-minions close in on them, is hilarious and almost nerve-wracking. The audience will be charmed by the youngest cast members, who appear as little mice, scurrying about the forest floor.
The action definitely picks up in the second half with the arrival of Father Christmas, signs of Spring, and, of course, Aslan. There is no doubt that the puppetry used for Aslan is remarkable. Perhaps, in the future shows, they will have the lion’s mouth move when it talks and roars; it was disconcerting with the jaws closed.
Very young children may find it difficult to sit through the play, especially as the actors speak with a British accent. However, older children, especially those who are familiar with and love the stories, will appreciate the playwright’s faithful adaptation. It is a great wholesome theater experience that brings to life a beloved children’s classic.
‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’
World Stage Theater at the Museum of the Bible
400 4th St. SW, Washington
Tickets: 866-430-6682 or MuseumOfTheBible.org
Running Time: 2 hours 45 minutes (one intermission)
Closes: Oct. 19, 2025
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