The Limelight Theatre presents "Love Letters," by A.R. Gurney
Directed by Grace Reed
Starring Annie Gaybis and Stephen C Mitchell
Have you ever spoken something that changed the course of events? Have you ever read something so compelling you couldn't tear your focus away? Have you ever heard words you will never be able to forget? Words are precious because they give the mind, heart, and soul a sharable shape and pronunciation. Sometimes they are tossed about very freely, and often without thought. Words can be dangerous and hurtful if flung about too carelessly, but intent is only half of the process of communication. The receiver of the communication, with or without consent, is also an active participant. In any case, words are the magic through which our thoughts and feelings can manifest and interact with the world.
A. R. Gurney understood this too well when he wrote "Love Letters." In this very intimate piece, we meet Andy (played by Stephen C Mitchell) and Melissa (played by Annie Gaybis), and through the process of reading every letter they wrote to each other, we take a walk through time with them. Like time travelers, they take us back to childhood in the 1930's, and we dance through the decades with them, watching the world change around them, watching the game change, the stakes change, and experiencing life changing with them. The most beautiful and intimate part of this experience is the reality of the words they had to put down to paper to share these experiences. It's because of the magic in these words that time travel is possible for we, the contemporaries, the readers, the listeners, and the audience.
While many may say, "Young people just won't understand," I have to argue that everyone understands. All people understand that moment of putting the most vulnerable and naked version of themselves into words. This is a means of presenting oneself as a gift intended with kindness and love towards another human being, and with the inability to control what they do with those words after. If anything, young people can understand all too well in this modern existence where the digital word is saved, stored, and in some form exists in a cloud forever. But before there were gifs and memes, before likes and heart emojis, before texts, before email, before computer monitors and word processors, there was paper of wood pulp and a Parker 51 with a bottle of ink. There were envelopes and stamps. There were two people, two hearts, two minds, two souls, and a world to travel between them. That's what this play is about. It's a thing that expresses the beauty of the human experience.
I'm excited and proud to be able to express these words under the direction of Grace Reed, a fabulous director who knows how to use her words to guide me towards the big picture I can't see, and the incredibly talented and high-energy performer Annie Gaybis. I know that together we will bring life and meaning to these words written to Andy and Melissa. I am excited for the audience who gets to experience this with us. We'll be performing A. R. Gurney's "Love Letters" from February 11th through February 14th. Tickets and reservations can be made through the Limelight Theatre in Saint Augustine, FL, or you can book online here... https://ci.ovationtix.com/34666/production/1188593?_gl=1*x5yg3d*_ga*MTgyNjkxMjkzNi4xNzA2MzYzODUx*_ga_1T723BH96L*MTcwNjM2Mzg1MC4xLjAuMTcwNjM2Mzg1MC42MC4wLjA. It's a very short run of a great show, and anyone who is fortunate enough to see it will remember it forever.
