FREUD'S LAST SESSION Features Post-Show Talkback Discussion 8/19

FREUD'S LAST SESSION will feature a post-show talkback discussion with Dr. Jeffrey W. Barbeau, Associate Professor of Theology in the Graduate School of Wheaton College; Dr. Tracy L. Caldwell, Associate Professor of Psychology at Dominican University; and Dr. Larry Arnhart, Presidential Research Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University, following the 1:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, August 19 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport in Chicago. The scholars will discuss the thought-provoking themes addressed in the play, such as the existence of God and the meaning of life.

Winner of the 2011 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play, the Midwest Premiere of FREUD'S LAST SESSION is now a smash hit in Chicago, having received rave reviews and a Jeff Recommendation. Starring local theater legend, Mike Nussbaum (Emmy, Drama Desk Award, four-time Jeff Award winner, and recent Sarah Siddons Award recipient) as "Sigmund Freud" and Coburn Goss (Vigils at the Goodman Theatre, Dead Man's Cell Phone at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Off Broadway When the Messenger is Hot at 59E59) as "C.S. Lewis," FREUD'S LAST SESSION has been extended several times and is now currently on sale for performances through the Fall.

Jeffrey W. Barbeau, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Theology in the Graduate School of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He also holds graduate degrees in English Literature and Theology as well as a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee. His research and writing develop at the intersection between theology and literature. Recent publications include books and articles related to religion and literature, including a book on the British Romantic poet S. T. Coleridge titled Coleridge, the Bible, and Religion published with Palgrave Macmillan in 2008. His current writing projects include an anthology of British Christianity between 1750 and 1832 for the forthcoming Documents of Anglophone Christianity series (Baylor University Press) and a monograph on S. T. Coleridge's daughter Sara, tentatively titled Sara Coleridge, Victorian Intellectual.

Dr. Tracy Caldwell received her Ph.D. in Personality and Social Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005 where she conducted research on defensive processing, stereotyping, and humor. From 2006 to 2008, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, where she taught courses in personality theory and social psychology. She is currently as Associate Professor of psychology at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, where she continues to teach courses in personality theory and social psychology and where she collaborates with undergraduates on a variety of research topics, including defensive processing, learning styles, and sex differences in the role of humor in mate selection.

Dr. Larry Arnhart received his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Chicago in 1978. He is presently a Presidential Research Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He works on the history of political philosophy and the application of Darwinian theories of human nature to moral and political philosophy. He is the author of five books, including Darwinian Natural Right: The Biological Ethics of Human Nature and Darwinian Conservatism.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION is by Mark St. Germain under the direction of Tyler Marchant. Additional productions of FREUD'S LAST SESSION are already set to open into 2013 in major markets across the nation and around the world, including London, Madrid, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Chris Jones of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE called FREUD'S LAST SESSION "Terrific!" and selected it as "Critic's Choice." The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES hailed it as "Compelling Theater!" THE HUFFINGTON POST exclaimed that the production "Clips Along with Wit and Charm!", WINDY CITY TIMES raved that it is "Intimate, Witty and Thought-Provoking!," and LAKE COUNTY JOURNAL called it "Fascinating, quick-witted, compelling!"

FREUD'S LAST SESSION centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud, who invites the rising academic star C. S. Lewis to his home in London. Lewis, expecting to be called on the carpet for satirizing Freud in a recent book, soon realizes Freud has a much more significant agenda. On the day England enters World War II, Freud and Lewis clash on the existence of God, love, sex, and the meaning of life – only two weeks before Freud chooses to take his own. Not just a powerful debate, this is a profound and deeply touching play about two men who boldly addressed the greatest questions of all time. Mark St. Germain's celebrated new play was suggested by the bestselling book The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., professor of psychology at Harvard University.

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