What makes Love Letters especially hard to write about in
a ‘zine like Aisle Say is that no sooner do you publish your assessment of what’s
onstage than, in a fundamental way, it changes soon after. Love
Letters, you see, is and always was a
readin’ play; the kind of thing where you get two actors, man and a woman,
helps if they’re middle aged or older, sit ‘em down at a table in front of the
audience, and have them read their parts aloud. And A.R. Gurney’s
play, in its first Broadway revival at the Brooks Atkinson, is pretty much exactly as it was in 1989
off-Broadway at the Promenade: the two actors are stars and they periodically
change. The difference here is, the play is being performed eight times a week,
not two (at the Promenade, Love Letters was the “off nights”
attraction), and each pair of stars are in it for a little longer (at the
Promenade they changed on a weekly basis).
The
play is about a lifelong friendship that is almost entirely an unrequited love
affair and almost entirely conducted via correspondence; the correspondence and
excerpts thereof being all we hear of it. With actors who are smart at this
kind of thing and a director on point to provide what little guidance may be
needed for pacing and making sure key points land with sufficient impact (in
this case, Gregory Mosher), it can be
very affecting; the kind of evening that makes you marvel at how “nothing” can
fill a theatre as substantially as spectacle. At times even more substantially.
So—with the understanding that Love
Letters is a no-frills readin’ play, you’ll probably have a
swell time no matter who you see;
so check the show’s website for the available schedule and select the couple
that will give you the best thrill for your celebrity buck. I saw Mia Farrow
and Brian Dennehy. She was
stellar and now she’s gone. He was swell and he’s still hanging in for a bit,
his current costar (as of this 10/11/14 writing) Carol Burnett. Others of that stature to follow soon.
What’s
not to like, er, love? And what more to say?
Go to David Spencer's Profile
Return to Home Page