'Love Letters' at CTAW - A Review

Dedicated to the memory of Kevin DelGobbo

Woodbury, CT - LOVE LETTERS is a unique play written by A. R. Gurney.

The production at Connecticut Theatre at Woodbury (CTAW) was directed by Rich Reimold and featured two different casts. The Thursday and Saturday performances featured Sarah Robards and Jeff Savage, while the Friday and Sunday matinee included Carol Birch and Jack Kearney. The show was sponsored in part by Shaker’s Auto Group.

The work by Mr. Gurney was initially presented by the Long Wharf Theater in 1988 when Arvin Brown was the artistic director of the New Haven theater and M. Edgar Rosenblum was executive director. The premiere cast starred John Rubenstein as Andrew and Joanna Gleason as Melissa. I learned from Mr. Reinhold’s director’s notes in the program thatLOVE LETTERS is a Pulitzer prize finalist. Mr. Gurney, affectionately called “Pete,” had a home in Roxbury, CT and died at the age of 86 in 2017.

The unique format of the piece calls for the two actors to remain seated on the stage for the two acts, reading aloud cards and letters that the characters have written to each other throughout their lives. It begins with two bewildered preteens on the cusp of adulthood and continues for the next 50 years.

One might think that watching two actors reading from a script might not hold one’s attention for long, but listening to the content of the letters that the couple exchange is engrossing, and the audience quickly cares about the two characters, and if they will ever become more than just friends/penpals. What makes this play more personal for residents of Connecticut are the references to the Merritt Parkway, Hartford, Yale University, New Canaan and Stamford.

The Saturday performance was so well-attended that additional folding chairs had to be pulled out from beneath the actual stage and added to the end of the rows closest to it. The house had been flipped so that the duo of actors sat upon a small raised platform planted near the wall that would normally be house left in the Woodbury Historic Town Hall on Mountain Road.

Mr. Reimold, a co-founder with Maureen Denver of CTAW, directed the actors to bring the characters to life with simply the words they have written to each other through the years. He is currently an Emeritus member of the CTAW board. Mr. Reimold, who was in attendance at the Saturday performance I attended, began teaching at Western CT State University in 1968 and developed the respected Theatre Department there. He remains a professor Emeritus at WCSU and was “recognized with honor by the School of Visual and Performing Arts for initiating 50 years of Theatre Arts” at the university.

Both actors that appeared on the evening I attended brought their characters to life so very well, all with a strong sense of comic timing. For although much of the tone of LOVE LETTERS is heavy, there are many very funny lines in the various letters and cards that are read aloud.

Sarah Robards, a New York native and a Woodbury resident since 1986, in the role of Melissa Gardner. Ms. Robards directed CTAW’s very first production of ANCESTRAL VOICES in 2014, and also co-directed NEW YORK with Robert Cutrofello and THE SPITFIRE GRILL with musical director Lynne Kearney. She also co-directed with her daughter Kate Robards the 2018 production of GOD OF CARNAGE at CTAW. As an actor, she has many credits at many venues, and it was a pleasure for me to see one of her performances in the beautiful town where she lives. Her “reaction shots” when her costar read a particularly irksome line were memorable.

Jeff Savage returned to CTAW with his strong voice to play the role of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. He most recently appeared in several roles in CTAW’s THE LARAMIE PROJECT. The actor also had a featured role in the nationally syndicated film ‘Chappaquiddick,” and can be seen on a television commercial that airs on local stations. I enjoy seeing him on any stage and this was no exception.

The role of Melissa was played by storyteller/actress Carol Birch for the other two performances and she was joined on the platform by Jack Kearney, one of the founders of CTAW. Mr. Kearney (CALENDAR GIRLS, TIED TO THE TRACKS) may have been typecast in the role of Andy, “since he was a lawyer in a not-so-precious incarnation.” I am sure that their performances were equally as touching.

Lighting by Bill Gedes and Dennis Walsh was just enough, with spot lights on both actors. The set included a large desk with two small podiums (to hold the scripts) and two water glasses, with two pots of autumn mums for decoration. Erika Dorio was the show’s producer.

Coming up at CTAW in 2020 will be RUMORS directed by Ed Bassett, THE REALISTIC JONESES directed by Ms. Robards and NUNSENSE directed by Maureen Denver with musical direction by Lynne Kearney.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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