PORT TOWNSEND — The tale of two soulmates separated by circumstance but united through correspondence will be recounted at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday during the presentation of the play “Love Letters” at Northwind Arts Center.
Admission will be free to the performance at the center at 701 Water St.
“Love Letters” is directed by Lawrie Driscoll, who has been seen in many Key City Public Theatre productions.
Driscoll has directed “The Art of Loving” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” and recently starred in the film “Phoebe’s Father.”
“Love Letters,” written by A.R. Gurney, is presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission and Arts to Elders, the arts center’s outreach program, which aims to connect elderly community residents to a variety of art and humanities experiences.
And while the play is especially for the residents at the retirement homes in Port Townsend, organizers said the general public also is invited.
“Love Letters” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1990, losing out to “The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson.
The play centers on two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Ladd III.
The two were born to wealthy families and became childhood friends, often penning letters to each other — a practice they continue throughout their lives.
During the play, the two sit side by side at tables and read the notes, letters and cards they have sent each other throughout nearly 50 years discussing their hopes, ambitions, dreams, disappointments, victories and defeats.
Though physically apart, they spiritually are as close as only lovers can be, organizers said.
Veteran actors
This production features veteran actors Diane Roberts as Gardner and Don White as Ladd.
This is the second time Roberts and White have performed together on stage for this play.
“Performing in this play again is like getting together with an old friend and having a good laugh and a good cry about old times,” Roberts said.
Roberts and White have a long history of acting on Port Townsend stages.
For many years, Roberts was a frequent performer at the Key City Playhouse and in her earlier days toured the Southwest as a professional actor.
White also has performed at the Key City Playhouse, the Paradise Theatre School and in Port Ludlow and Sequim.
He is a regular short-story reader on radio station KPTZ and has his own musical show, “Broadway Showtime,” on the station.
For more information, call 360-379-1086 or visit www.northwindarts.org.
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.