FREUD'S LAST SESSION to Hold 7/29 Talkback

FREUD'S LAST SESSION will feature a post-show talkback discussion with Scott Kelley, Assistant Vice President for Vincentian Scholarship in the Office of Mission and Values and Assistant Professor in the Religious Studies Department at DePaul University, and James Halstead, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University, following the 1:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, July 29 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport in Chicago.

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 twice and is now currently on sale for performances through September 2.

Scott Kelley is Assistant Vice President for Vincentian Scholarship in the Office of Mission and Values and Assistant Professor in the Religious Studies Department at DePaul University. As a research fellow for the Institute of Business and Professional Ethics, he co-authored Alleviating Poverty through Profitable Partnerships: Globalization, Markets, and Economic Well-Being and has published articles on for-profit contributions that alleviate poverty, the principles of subsidiarity and The Common good from Catholic social thought as they pertain to business, in addition to articles on Vincentian heritage. His research interests include spirituality and ethics, sustainability, and Vincentian Pragmatism. He received a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Loyola University Chicago and has taught courses on C.S. Lewis, Business Ethics, Vincentian Storytelling, Spiritual Autobiography, and Developing Sustainable Strategies.

James Halstead is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University. He regularly teaches Freud's theories on religion in DePaul's Honors Program where he is a Distinguished Honors Professor. Holding doctorates in religious studies and theology from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, (Louvain), Belgium, his special interest is finding a way between fundamentalisms (religious and secular) and nihilisms (ancient and contemporary) in Western experience.

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.