Strong Missives and Slight Missteps
Reviewed
2/20/04
Love Letters
by A.R. Gurney
Directed by Jason Gerace
Theater Works
The Lakes Club, Sun City
(623) 815-7930
February 13th - March 7th, 2004
$15.00 - $21.00
The concept behind A.R. Gurney’s two-person Love Letters seems as undramatic as they come. Two people onstage reading the letters they have written to each other from age seven until death do they part does not sound like a rollicking evening of theatre. However, in the hands of Gurney, this becomes a passionate exploration of two preppies as they grow up, miss each other romantically, and discover the power of words in the process. When first produced on Broadway in 1989, the spin was to include a different couple cycling through the roles. Beginning with Colleen Dewhurst as the free-spirited Melissa and Jason Robards as the staid Andrew, the show paired all ages of couples, including Swoosie Kurtz with Richard Thomas, Elaine Stritch with Cliff Robertson, and Elizabeth McGovern with Timothy Hutton. As the play requires the actors to age fifty years over the course of two hours, there is room for performers to grow older or younger.
Theater Works and Director Jason Gerace have chosen to present two couples, one older, one younger, to switch between weekends. The first couple, Laura and Douglas Durant, perform on the first and third weekends, but I went for the second weekend, which featured Courtney Weir and Micahel Arbuckle. The power of the script is in the connection that the two make without ever looking at each other. They talk, and they react, and the words do the rest. With this set of actors, little aging occurs after they have moved from elementary school to college in the first act, and that’s a problem. We care about the characters, but there are little details that Gerace seems to have ignored that keep the piece from being a completely successful production.
It’s the little things that make a difference. The desks are stock and do not reflect character in the slightest, and the actors read directly from their scripts, doing nothing to hide the highlighted lines. Perhaps having Andrew’s script appear to be parchment and Melissa’s appear to be a spiral notebook would have enhanced the viewing of the evening. Attention to detail has been ignored. The actors are expressive, though, and the words effective. Weir embodies the youthfulness of the character, but loses believability as the years pass. Arbuckle is more consistent throughout, but still seems to be unable to capture his character’s later years.
It is Gurney who is the true star of the evening. His missives are pointed and each flow in their own strong character arc. Time passes in a recognizable, hilarious, and heart-wrenching way. There were many, many sniffles running through the audience as the lights dimmed.
It is quite possible that the Durants are stronger, as it’s usually easier for older to play younger. The script itself is certainly worth a look, if for no other reason that to discover how a powerful script needs little physicalization to succeed.
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