ZippySaid Productions/Love Letters, written by A.R. Gurney, directed by David Agro, Red Sandcastle Theatre, closes Feb. 16. Tickets here.
A Pulitzer Prize finalist, the 1988 play Love Letters holds a special place in American literature. It is always being performed somewhere in the world, and in many languages.
Happily, ZippySaid Productions has brought the play back to Toronto, directed by David Agro, and produced by Deborah Shaw, who also happen to star in the show. Agro did the set and the lighting. He also came up with the concept for the program, which is in the form of a letter, not to mention doing publicity as well. Agro is the company’s one-man band.
Background
The plays of the prolific Gurney focus on a certain class of people, namely the old money WASPs of the north-east American seaboard and the Upper East Side of New York. He writes about what he knows, having been part of that milieu himself — boarding schools, Ivy League universities, and second homes in Newport and Palm Beach.
What is special about Love Letters is that it is read, not memorized. The two actors sit side by side, reading from their scripts, never looking at each other. The magic of the play is that over the course of time, an intimate and fully formed portrait of the two characters emerges from the reading of the letters.
It is brilliant writing on the part of Gurney.
This production has a very pretty set with two desks, the woman’s being white and the man’s dark wood. Behind them is a collage of letters on two strings attached to a large model of a cathedral. Gurney in the script mandates that they can each have water, but their containers are very different and suit the characters.
The Letters and the Characters
The first letter begins in 1937 when the two protagonists are 8 years old. Together, the letters cover a span of 50 years and are sad, funny, serious and angry by turn.
The two characters are Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Agro) and Melissa Gardner (Shaw). Melissa’s family is richer than Andy’s, a fact which they both acknowledge. Their relationship is very complicated. They are clearly meant for each other but marry the wrong people.
Melissa’s parents divorce, and her mother marries again to a hateful stepfather. Her own father becomes distant and has a second family. For his part, Andy comes from a stable home. As one wag quipped: “Melissa may be richer, but Andy has better parents”.
In his plays, Gurney loves to portray stereotypes, yet his skill as a writer lies in giving them humanity. His characters live and breathe and grow far beyond their stereotypical beginnings.
By the end of the play, we know Andy and Melissa as real people. We also have a firm understanding of the people in their lives.
The Performances
Andy never goes beyond the conservative values of his family and society. He attends the expected schools, joins a prestigious New York law firm, marries the right woman, and goes into politics, becoming a United States senator.
Agro gives a fine performance — stiff, dogmatic, and restrained, yet filled with compassion and warmth. He takes delight in following the path of his forefathers yet is filled with insecurities that he tries to hide. In Agro’s sensitive hands, we know that Andy is a good and decent man.
The artistic Melissa is the rebel who fights against the restrictive mores of her day. She pushes limits, and as a result of seeking new and risky experiences, she becomes a lost soul. Her marriage collapses and she loses custody of her children. Her life is adrift, and her mood swings become ever more obvious.
At the beginning, Shaw was over-acting and her character as both a child and teenager seemed forced, but as the play progressed to adulthood, Shaw found her footing and gave us a heartbreaking Melissa, trying to conquer her very bad choices, and failing at every turn.
Love Letters is also a play about silences, and Gurney has embedded them within the script. They are as important as the text. It is within these silences, caused by words in a letter, that both Agro and Shaw excel. Their expressive faces tell us exactly what they are feeling and thinking.
The beginning sets the tone, and it’s great timing. They walk in, sit down in their chairs, and put on their glasses at exactly the same time. Their entrance after intermission is more vibrant with Shaw almost swinging onto the set, shouting “Firenze” because she is in Florence. Agro’s Andy seems to be more animated as well.
The two actors also give us a strong rendering of the poignant ending to the play. Gurney would have been happy just how moving it was.
Clearly this cast understands the irony of the title.
Trivia
And here’s some trivia for you. Over the years, the most famous actors of stage and screen have performed in the play, usually as a benefit to raise money for charity. The actors generally have a connection. They were in a movie together, or a television series, or a Broadway play, and often the actors are a married couple. The list of the glitterati who have taken part in Love Letters is endless.
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