“Love Letters,” A.R. Gurney’s internationally acclaimed stage hit, is a heart-warming, poignant play about two people, Andy Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, who write letters to each other over a period of 50 years.
On Saturday, November 26, at 7 p.m., “Love Letters” will be presented at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. The production stars Academy Award-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl as Melissa Gardner and Harris Yulin, who has had a long career on stage and screen, in the role of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Andy is a serious, down-to-earth attorney. Melissa is a lively, free-spirited artist. But these two opposites have a definite attraction. They are childhood friends who share a lifetime of experiences through a voluminous series of letters and notes written from the age of 6 to 65. Poignant, romantic and frequently funny, their correspondence follows a bittersweet path of boarding schools, marriage, children, divorce and missed opportunities. It’s the life journey of two soulmates — enacted through words both written and unsaid — who share the greatest gift of all: the gift of love.
Tickets for the performance are $60 and $80 with 50 percent of ticket sales going to the Claire Lucido Fund that supports Sarcoma Cancer Research at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Additional donations to this nonprofit will be accepted the night of the performance. The Stephen Talkhouse is at 161 Main Street, Amagansett. For details, visit stephentalkhouse.com.