Broadway Theater Review: Love Letters with Brian Dennehy and Mia Farrow

After Brian Dennehy and Mia Farrow, catch these casting combinations:

Mia Farrow and Brian Dennehy. Photo: Carol Rosegg

Carol Burnett and Brian Dennehy

Oct. 11-Nov. 7

Alan Alda and Candice Bergen 
Nov. 8- Dec. 5

Stacy Keach and Diana Rigg
Dec. 6 – Jan. 9

Anjelica Huston and Martin Sheen 
Jan. 10, 2015 – Feb. 1, 2015

Letters Full of Love, Frienship Span 50-Year Relationship
By Lauren Yarger

Spanning 50 years of a relationship played out mostly in written letters, cards and notes, A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters comes to Broadway in style with a cast of big-name actors starting with Brian Dennehy and Mia Farrow.

Seated side-by-side at a table (John Lee Beatty was brought in for the almost unnecessary set), the actors read the pen-pal conversation between Melissa Gardner and Andy Makepeace Ladd III in a 90-minute, no-intermission performance.

“Dear Andy, thank you for the birthday present. . . .”

And so begins, in second grade, a lifelong friendship between the two.  They write to each other when separated at summer camp, family vacations, prep school, college and into adulthood.  Melissa’s first stepfather may be abusing her. Andy thinks he might enjoy going to law school.

The two see each other from time to time in person over the years too, when their schedules permit, but it is their letters – a joy for Andy who loves to write long-winded, eloquent accounts of his experiences but a labor for free-spirited Melissa, who prefers brevity and drawing pictures – that really forge the foundation of their relationship. Even when they aren’t speaking to each other over some disagreement, the letters bridge the gap of silence.

The two become confidants, sharing all of their experiences – and giving each other honest feedback – about sex, marriage, raising children and forging careers. Melissa’s great promise as a painter fades and she sinks into depression and alcoholism when she loses her children in a custody battle. Andy, a married senator with the perfect wife and kids, must be careful of appearances. He sends a wholesome family form letter for Christmas.

At one point, the friends wonder whether there is more to their relationship than meets the eye. Could all of the notes back and forth really be defined as love letters? Could it be that all they really have been looking for in a romantic relationship has been telegraphed all these years on the pages of their written communications? Or is it too hard to recreate the closeness of letters when they get up close and personal?

Gregory Mosher directs the fast-paced dialogue that ranges from humor to heart-breaking drama (and Farrow, in particular, rises to the emotion of the occasion).  A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Love Letters could get boring since the two actors simply sit and read – it is oft-produced for fundraisers with stars since no extended rehearsal is needed -- but Dennehy and Farrow manage to hold the audience’s interest throughout, despite some flaws in their characters.

Love Letters plays at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, : 256 West 47th St. NYC, through Feb. 1, 2015.

http://lovelettersbroadway.com.

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