While not a true biography, Shadowlands by William Nicholson depicts the meeting, courtship, and subsequent marriage of British author and Christian theologian C.S. Lewis to American poet Joy Gresham. Fans of historical accuracy will be disappointed that many details are left out such as one of Gresham's sons or that the play has one of Lewis's Narnia books being read upon Lewis and Gresham's meeting when it wasn't released until some years later. While audience members who have read Lewis's Surprised by Joy or A Grief Observed may also feel let down that Lewis's crisis of faith is not explored in any depth.

Understanding the limitations and the liberties the script takes with the accuracy of the events surrounding the beautifully love story will allow audience members to enjoy Olympia Little Theatre's production for the subtle exploration of one man's journey into romantic love after a lifetime of bachelorhood.

Scott Douglas portrays Lewis and opens the play with a monologue/sermon. This is the one moment when Douglas is less believable as the writer since the monologue was given with less charisma and conviction than one would expect. Although there is not a dramatic shift in character, the rest of Douglas's performance is more in line with Lewis's academic personality as he is shaped by the friendship that develops with Joy Gresham (Stacey Hopkins). Hopkins delivery is fantastic and she gets the most laughs with her dry with and great timing. She also has a more physically demanding role during Act II and carries that off well. Nick Hayes portrays Gresham's son Douglas and is quite focused throughout.

Technically OLT performed well in several areas. Costumes were lovely and the lighting was used effectively to maximize the small thrust stage. The one drawback to the technical execution of the script was in the use of the thrust stage. Many of the scenes were blocked in such a way that audience members on house left or right were unable to see any actor's faces which detracted from the experience. The worst moment was during the second act when Gresham is in a hospital bed. House right was unable to see anything except Gresham's leg so much is missed although Hopkins is effective at tone of voice, which helps the meaning. The music that played detracted a little from the play because every song was cut off abruptly instead fading smoothly. In addition, some of the songs that were used were a little newer than period the play was set.

Even with some of the distractions that the technical execution or script created, Shadowlands is a lovely story and Douglas and Hopkins create some exchanges of dialogue that are delightful to watch.

SHADOWLANDS, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 10, Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia, $8-$14, 360.786.9484