'Treasure Trove' Of Love Letters, Photos Kick Off Valentine's Day Weekend Debut Of 'Dear Jack, Dear Louise'

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Celebrating a weekend of love with the debut of "Dear Jack, Dear Louise" at the Southampton Arts Center, director Michael Disher put out a call, explaining that he was collecting black-and-white photographs from local couples circa 1945 for a projected compilation spotlighting the magic of enduring and forever romance.

What evolved was a magical outpouring of faded photos and vivid memories, a testament to the true and abiding love that comes just once in a lifetime — a love that's worth fighting for and holding closely, with tender care, until one's final breath.

Ken Ludwig’s “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” is set to capture hearts with the telling of such a tale at the Southampton Arts Center.

Starring Barbara Jo Howard and Jack Seabury, the show runs from February 13 to 15, with shows at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 14, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 15.

According to a description of the show: “When two strangers meet by letter during World War II, a love story begins. U.S. Army Captain Jack Ludwig, a military doctor stationed in Oregon, begins writing to Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actress and dancer in New York City, hoping to meet her someday if the war will allow. But as the war continues, it threatens to end their relationship — before it even starts. Two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig tells the poignant story of his own parents’ unlikely courtship during World War.”

The stories and photos sent to Disher speak of passion, heartbreak, hope and love, pure and simple — at a time when many couples, separated by war, miles and distance, had no access the trappings of present times. There were no cell phones, no FaceTime chats, no videos. Instead, there were letters, beautiful, yearning missives, written on fragile sheets of paper, many stained with rivers of tears, carefully penned by trembling hands and carefully placed in envelopes that would travel miles and across oceans to reach the faraway hearts lonely souls were aching to hold.

"So many responses arrived with outpourings of love and respect for couples, parents, grandparents whose unions began and developed during wartime in the 1940s and, in most cases, lasted over 50-plus years," Disher said. "As we approach the opening of 'Dear Jack, Dear Louise' on February 13 and have entered the month of love, I'd like to share a daily dose of people who lived, loved and took 'till death do we part' literally. Their stories should be told — and will be," Disher said.

The emails and photos came pouring in after Disher put out the call for heart-touching love stories.

"Jack and Janice Brennan were married October 25, 1947. They were married for 71 years," said Traci Sally, who had seen the Patch article asking for "photos of couples from the era with a great love story — and our grandparents definitely fit that."

She added: "He saw her and decided he had to have her even though she was dating someone else at the time. After that, they spent nearly every day together once they married — rarely ever apart. He absolutely adored her. He passed and she followed him exactly two years later to the day."

Finally, their souls were reunited for eternity.

“My parents, Cliff and Barbara Heinzerling, met at Bucknell University where my father was enrolled in the Navy Officer School during the war and my mother was studying biology," Heinzerling said. "They had a sweet romance and corresponded by letters when he was transferred to Chicago for additional Officer training. When the war ended, they married in the summer of 1946 and in 1958 purchased a summer home in Shinnecock Hills for the five daughters they would go on to have."

She added: "I am fortunate to still co-own this home with two of my sisters and I use it during the summers to escape the Southern heat where I have lived for many years."

Despite the sadness of farewell, eternal love lives on, she said — a shining example of devotion that will forever inspire. "My folks were married in August 1946 and stayed married for 46 years until 1992 when my mother sadly passed away from cancer. My father never remarried because he said he only had one love. My family has a treasure trove of love letters they wrote to one another during the war."

Laurie Posimato also reached out to share the timeless romance her parents, George and Evelyn Amber Fecht, shared.

"They were madly in love with each other before their passing in 1997 and 2001," she said.

Jane Cooper sent a photo of her parents Marilyn and Francis Kammerer, wed in November 1945, and married for 55 years.

"Francis was a WWII Sergeant major in the Marines and they were married in Hawaii after he returned from Japan at the end of the war," she said. "Marilyn was a young war bride married shortly after her 18th birthday. I found a bracelet that was engraved 'I will be waiting for you' and assumed he gave it to her.”

Mary and Wiley Jones, Jr., Fairhope, Alabama, were married for 53 years. “They met in Guatemala. She was with her parents on an extended trip through Central and South America. He had a traveling fellowship from Harvard Grad School of Design. She from PA, he from AR. Their romance was conducted mostly through letters," their family said.

Richard Smyth wrote that his parents, Marie and Ray Smyth, were married November, 22, 1945 until he died at age 65.

Marie lived to 101 years of age, he said.

Dorothy Reilly celebrated the magic her parents Dottie and Artie Reilly had shared.

“My mom and dad met in 1945 through my mom’s sister (Aunt Marie) and my dad’s brother — Uncle Joe. Dad and Uncle Joe were both in the Army during WWII," Reilly wrote.

"My parents were married in 1947 and were married for almost 30 years until my mom died at age 53," Reilly said. "Dad passed three weeks later from emphysema and a broken heart. They were in love the entire time — and I never heard them argue or say a harsh word to each other. They were great parents filled with love for each other and their kids.”

Lizabeth Dubson's parents, Tom and Fran Bova, first locked eyes and hearts after her father was discharged from the Navy. "He was four years older than her then, and they lived across the street from each other in Brooklyn," she said.

"Both being from Italian immigrant parents, their mothers were very close," she said. "When my mother first saw him when he came home, she told her friend, 'I’m going to marry that man,' and that’s exactly what happened."

"They were married for 57 years before my father passed," Dubson wrote. "Seven years later my mother passed. My parents always held hands wherever they were. 'I love you' flowed freely from their lips to each other. It was always evident to anyone they were around how much they loved one another. They were the best parents my siblings and I could have ever asked for, and their unwavering love was truly an inspiration."

Harmon Skurnik also shared his parents' wartime love story — a yearning of the heart that survived distance and time. A love that blossomed and flourished through the power of the written word.

“These are my parents, Nathan and Ruth (Eskin) Skurnik, who married in 1943 at the height of the war, after which my father shipped overseas for the remainder of the war. He was a lieutenant and stationed in Iran. A day didn’t go by that he didn’t write a love letter to my mother. I have possession of many of these sweet letters. He returned home after the war, and they eventually started a family. Both are now deceased.”

Justin Thompson wrote about Dorothy Babb and Johnny Coy, and the family they created. "Bonnie Heather Ogilvie is Dorothy and Johnny’s daughter. We met while I was in the military police serving at headquarters — Pacific Army — just outside Pearl Harbor during the Vietnam war. We’ve been married for nearly 58 years. We had five children together and were blessed to be able to raise four of them. One died in infancy but the others are all successful middle-aged adults.

"Bonnie inherited her parents’ genes, continues to dance around our house almost daily but eschews even a modicum of the theatrical life," he said. "Having grown up in Hollywood (literally, on Lull Street) she has chosen the more sedate life of wife, mother, grandmother and all-around good friend."

Karen Muller Lucas sent a picture of her beloved parents Ed and Shirley Muller, both gone, from their wedding in August 1944. "My dad shipped out five days later to the Pacific and was on Iwo Jima six months after that."

Arlene Albrecht sent a timeless photo of her parents Louise and Walter Albrecht that captures the joy of forever romance. "This photo was probably taken between 1940 and 1942. It was a wonderful marriage of 64 years. My mom passed in 2008 and dad in 2005. They spent their summers in Montauk at my home.”

Bonnie Williams shared a beloved photo of her parents, Dudley and Delores Burrus, on their wedding day in February 1945.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Geraldine Zandy were married in 1943 and had a lovely life together until Joe’s passing in 1997. Joe served in the army during WWII and was in the Battle of the Bulge, Patricia Zandy said.

Karen Andrews remembered her mother Marian Davis Scholz and her father Theodore “Teddy” Scholz — and shared a photo of the couple in December 1947, shortly after their marriage on Nov 27, 1947. Their lives were rich with local memories.

In the photo, they are in front of her father’s butcher market, Good Ground Market in Hampton Bays.

"My father is wearing his bloody butcher’s apron," she said. "In the background is the marquis for the old theatre that was condemned and torn down. Good Ground Market is still in my family and houses my antique store, Good Ground Antiques. My parents were married until my father passed in December 1991."

May and George Mulligan, married July 19, 1942, were married for 55 years — a lifetime bond forged in first love and then, spanning moment and decades.

May's parents, Lucy and Horace Orton (above) married in 1905 in Leicester, England. And, in a twist of fate only found in the greatest of love stories: "They were also married for 55 years," Kathy Mulligan said.

Another couple also had a story that's been retold amongst family and friends for generations.

"Dorothy and Joseph DeCicco were married July 3rd, 1943 at The Presidio in San Francisco," said Dorothy Labowski. "They were married for 33 years."

Dorothy and Joe, Labowski said, met at a USO dance in Maui where Dorothy, who was of Russian and Portuguese descent, was born on a sugar plantation.

"Joe already had a sweetheart in Brooklyn. He would always say that from the moment he held her in his arms he would never let her go. And he never did. Joe was a medic in the Army and before leaving for Luzon, he asked my mother to meet him in San Francisco. Hawaii was under martial law, and it was very dangerous and difficult zigzagging across the Pacific."

The July 3, 1943 wedding was simple but deep in meaning, she said. "No frills, celebration or wedding gown. My mom’s sister met them at The Presidio and a stranger stood in as the best man. They were in love and full of hope for a better future. Dorothy remained in San Francisco working as a typist for the Navy until Joe’s return. Life in Brooklyn with Joe’s Italian family was wonderful, but so different from anything she knew in Hawaii. They were happily married for 33 years, raising two children until Joe died suddenly in 1976."

They had been married 33 years — thankfully, the whole family had celebrated the couple's 30th anniversary, she said.

"Dorothy relocated to her summer home in East Quogue and never remarried. She already had her great love story. She will be 108 in April," Labowski added.

Brenda Sinclair also shared the timeless story of her parents, Chet and Charlotte Sinclair.

"My mom, Charlotte Fisher, was born in the Bronx," she said. "Her family had property in Hampton Bays and she spent summers here from a very young age. My dad, Chet Sinclair, was born in Hampton Bays, as was his dad before him."

She added: "My dad was in the Army during World War II and had recently returned home when he met Mom. She and her girlfriend, Rosemarie, were walking up street when my dad and his friend Edgar Squires, saw two pretty young girls and stopped to say 'hi'. These two city girls were a bit horrified that these strangers stopped to chat. Dad asked if they wanted to go bowling (at the Legion in Hampton Bays), but they were not interested. As they chatted, Harry Berglin came along. Harry was my Mom's neighbor across the street in Hampton Bays and Mom and Rosemarie knew him well. He of course, knew my Dad and Edgar, and once Mom and Rose knew Dad and Edgar weren't weirdos — based on Harry's say so — they said they'd go bowling. But they had to come meet my grandfather first. If he said 'no', the date would be off."

The story was written in the proverbial stars.

"Obviously, they went on a date!" Sinclair said. "After a few more, my dad told Mom that Edgar actually had a steady girlfriend who wouldn't be thrilled that he was going out on dates with Rosemarie. But, he had a brother, Larry, who was two years older and he'd be happy to go out with her. And that is how Rosemarie became my beloved Aunt Rose and my parents became my parents."

Her parents, she said, married in 1948. "Mom was 19, and Dad was 25. Aunt Rose and Uncle Larry married a year later. Both couples had a son and a daughter of similar ages. Edgar married Ruth and we were all very close throughout the years. I still close with my cousins as well as the Squires 'kids' who come to visit now and then and stay at my parents' home. Harry married and has a daughter my age, who is one of my best friends. The circle of life."

Her parents built their home, she said, "had my brother, Mark, and started an oil business. Mom took care of the books, and Dad would deliver on weekends and after his regular workday as a painter. As the business grew, so did their family, when I came along a few years later. Ultimately, the business was able to support them and became a full-time endeavor. One which, I am happy to say, is still going strong. I run the business now, no one is more surprised by that than me, and Quogue Sinclair Fuels celebrated its 71st anniversary in November."

Sinclair added: "There was no doubt that my parents loved one another and were happy. Of course, there were ups and downs as in any life, but overall they — and Mark and I — were extremely blessed. Mom passed away just a few weeks before their 64th wedding anniversary."

All the love stories shared with Disher echo the emotions experienced by the unfolding of "Dear Jack, Dear Louise." Love stories marked by sweet, hopeful letters, letters filled with yearning, passion, and promises.

And, too, the play speaks to the importance of places that hold great meaning and importance for couples first falling headlong into love.

Anyone who remembers the magic of the final scene in "The Way We Were," where Barbra Streisand's character, Katie Morosky, bid adieu with an aching soul to her beloved Hubbell, played by the incomparable Robert Redford, will remember the sparkling Pulitzer Fountain by the Plaza Hotel.

Without giving away any spoilers, the fountain plays a central role in this deeply romantic show, set in 1945, that speaks to a love story meant for eternity.

The collection of photos sent in by so many — photos celebrating family, memories and above all, romance— will serve as the show's ending homage to love, Disher said.

"It's the greatest love story — that almost wasn't," Disher told Patch. "This is a World War II love story — just for Valentine's Day."

The show is described as “storytelling at its best” by the Chicago Theatre Review.

The iconic Disher, who directs the show, explains why he chose the offering. “I have always been a fan of Ken Ludwig’s comedies, but this one seemed a bit more personal. Plus, I like providing our Center Stage patrons and the Southampton Arts Center with interesting new works, and maybe some that have been forgotten.”

Disher said the idea of presenting the show as another Long Island premiere appeals. “And, it’s Valentine’s Day weekend. Historically I have directed Gurney’s ‘Love Letters’, as many others have. I felt it was time to give another title a chance. And not unlike’ Love Letters’, it is a two character epistolary piece. Remember when people used to write letters? I still believe people love to receive a handwritten note, and in this case, the entire play is the letters between Jack Ludwig and Louise Rabiner.”

For Disher, the show’s unveiling symbolizes a journey of the heart. “I stumbled across this play about four, maybe five years ago. I anxiously waited for the non-theatrical or amateur rights to become available and was so excited when they did. However, with most new plays, one then has to wait until every professional production leaves the 90-mile radius requirement. Luckily, my good news came this past summer as I was piecing together this year‘s season.”

The show is a sweet valentine to the power of hearts joined, futures sealed with a kiss, Disher noted. “It is a joyful piece, full of Ludwig’s wit and warmth. And a perfect, perfect Valentine’s weekend date.”

Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton. For additional information and tickets, click here.