Keeping Theater in Our Own Backyard

Edward Herrmann writes letters, real letters, on paper, using a fountain pen filled with black ink (like Kip-ling, he says,) imported-from England.

   So performing A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters,â€� a durable and charming play about a 50-year love affair, conducted mostly on paper, is a natural. Especially since Herrmann will be playing opposite his wife, Star Herrmann.

   The idea behind these two performances scheduled for this weekend, the two Salisbury residents say, is to raise funds for TriArts. It is also, as Star puts it, an opportunity to “give something back to the community. That’s absolutely essential. It’s wonderful to have theater in your own back yard. Let’s keep it going for the kids.â€�

   Also, she finds it  “charmingâ€� to work with her husband.

   The play covers the lives of Andrew and Melissa, two privileged persons from Gurney’s stable of American elites, from 1930 to 1985. The two actors are seated, facing the audience, reading their letters, and never looking at each other.

   That’s necessary, Edward said during an interview, Sunday, to maintain the distance between the two characters.

   The play opens with their meeting in second grade, and  continues through their college years, their marriages to other people, their careers, their triumphs and sorrows, their aging and on to the final letter.

   “Love Letters,â€� at TriArts’ Bok Gallery in Sharon, will be performed at 5 p.m., Nov. 27 and 28. The first-performance ticket, at $150, includes a cocktail reception and a chance to win a Motherwell lithograph. Tickets for Saturday are $50. For reservations, call 860-364-7469.

  

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