Sending and receiving letters in the mail has largely become a thing of the past thanks to instant communication via email, social media and text.
A.R. Gurney’s play “Love Letters,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama, takes a look at what lifelong correspondence can mean to two people.
“As children, Andy and Melissa meet at some social event their parents are attending and decide to become pen pals,” said Carly Bishop, director of “Love Letters” from Feb. 13-16 at Beverly Arts Center’s Studio Theatre in Chicago.
“We follow them throughout their entire life until the end of their lives. There are definitely some highs and lows.
“This show feels like it’s from a different time. Yet, the relationship is valid in the contemporary. Also, it makes us think that maybe we’ve lost this lovely art that was the written word and maybe there’s a way to return to that and have a renaissance of the love letter,” she said.
Chicago theater veterans Robert Frankel and Debra Rodkin make their Beverly Arts Center debut in the two-person play.
“We’re so excited to have them,” said Bishop, who is also interim director of education at Beverly Arts Center.
“They’re charismatic. Even in the audition they had an instantaneous rapport that you would have thought they had been friends for life. Yet, they were meeting each other for the first time. That’s what made them perfect for the parts.”
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“Love Letters” is the second production in Beverly Arts Center’s Season of Inclusion, which began with “Topdog/Underdog” in October.
“To get to see a show where the actors are holding the script but, yet, are creating this dynamic relationship with each other and a wonderful story arc is a different experience from the usual theater show people would be expecting,” Bishop said.
‘Love Letters’ is a different kind of script, she said, because the playwright actually gives instructions about how to direct the show.
“A.R. Gurney says you should have minimal rehearsals and the actors should not memorize the lines because he wanted them to read the letters to each other on stage,” she explained.
“He wanted to capture that idea of receiving a letter and the excitement of being in the moment while you’re reading it. That’s what he tries to capture in the play. He also has instructed not to do gigantic sets. The focus is on a real, intimate lover relationship that occurred over a lifetime.”
“Love Letters” marks the first time Beverly Arts Center is part of Chicago Theatre Week 2020, which features value-priced tickets to more than 100 performances at theaters across the city from Feb. 13-23. A promo code for $15 tickets to the show is available at www.chicagotheatreweek.com.
“We’re setting the Studio Theatre up to feel like a date night so there will be flowers on the table, candlelight and Valentine’s chocolate that you can share with your partner at your table,” Bishop said.
“Your table could be set up right next to the actors. You get to experience it like you all ended up at a restaurant and got to hear the inner monologue of the couple sitting next to you.”
Beverly Theatre Center’s Season of Inclusion also includes “Next to Normal” (April 16-19), “Mothers & Sons” (June 25-28), “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” (June 11-14) and “The Good Body” (Aug. 20-23).
The $120 Theatre Season Flex Pass includes six tickets to use during the Season of Inclusion.
‘Love Letters’
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13-15; 2:30 p.m. Feb. 16
Where: Beverly Arts Center’s Studio Theatre, 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago
Tickets: $24 ($22 center members)
Information: 773-445-3838; www.beverlyartcenter.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.