Love Letters

Donna Fjelstad and Don Boyd present the second of their three play Fundraiser Studio Series produced by Pierre Players. A wonderful gift for Valentine?s Day or just an evening of quality theater, the duo?s performance of A.R. Gurney?s best known and Pulitzer Prize nominated play, Love Letters is sure to be an audience pleaser. In such critically acclaimed plays as The Dining Room and The Cocktail Hour, A.R. Gurney wittily captured the manners of upper-middle class WASP America, but never as gracefully or with such dazzling economy as in Love Letters. Tracing the lifelong correspondence of the staid, dutiful lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and the lively, unstable artist Melissa Gardner, the story of their bittersweet relationship gradually unfolds from what is written ? and what is left unsaid ? in their letters. A smash hit both off and on Broadway, Love Letters captures Andy and Melissa with a precision of detail and depth of feeling only Gurney can command. His characters are deep, and portraying their lives from childhood to old age, is a true challenge for any actor. Fjelstad and Boyd meet the challenge. Their characters reveal the play?s two ?deeply entwined soul mates? whose destiny may be to find intimacy and happiness together or always wondering internally where their relationship is taking them. Along the way, there are hopes, triumphs and tragedies. Reviewed as ?exhilarating, funny and moving? by the Wall Street Journal, the play has been hailed by audiences and critics for its insightful penetration of ?the intrinsic qualities of love, life and humanity.? The emphasis in Love Letters is with the human condition and the relationships people form rather than on social comment. The subtle brilliance of this work lies in its characterizations and adherence to basic principles of good theatre. The staging is deceptively simple: and lets the beauty of the story shine through. The Fundraiser Studio Series and this production is a gift to Pierre Players from Fjelstad and Boyd intended to support the organization?s mission of bringing live theatre to the community.