Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Love Letters by A.R. Gurney

Message

   It seems I come back to Gurney's Love Letters every year and am tempted to do it. Has anyone made money from this play? Does it still pull well? The set and costume requirements are so minimal it has to be an easy break-even piece.

I've been thinking about casting three sets of actors for it. One teen-aged couple for the "early years" of the play. A second couple, around 30ish, for the "middle years" of the play and an older couple for the final part of the play. Has anyone seen it done this way or do you think it would be effective?

Thanks for any feedback.

Bill

Author	Message
n2drama Player Joined: 4/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24	Topic: Love Letters by A.R. Gurney Posted: 3/27/13 at 8:53pm
	It seems I come back to Gurney's Love Letters every year and am tempted to do it. Has anyone made money from this play? Does it still pull well? The set and costume requirements are so minimal it has to be an easy break-even piece. I've been thinking about casting three sets of actors for it. One teen-aged couple for the "early years" of the play. A second couple, around 30ish, for the "middle years" of the play and an older couple for the final part of the play. Has anyone seen it done this way or do you think it would be effective? Thanks for any feedback. Bill

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Scott B Celebrity Joined: 12/08/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 229	Posted: 3/28/13 at 1:16am
	I think it draws well. I saw one theatre that double cast the characters where a different couple played on different weekends. That works well if you want to involve more people. I can't see casting it with different people throughout the same show. If done correctly, you get to really know the characters and swapping people out would distract from that aspect of the show.
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n2drama Player Joined: 4/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24	Posted: 3/29/13 at 11:25am
	Thanks for the feedback, Scott. You're right, the audience connecting with the characters is a very important element, particularly in this show. That empathy is a big part of it.
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Topper Celebrity Joined: 1/27/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 542	Posted: 5/17/13 at 3:49pm
	Practically all of Gurney's plays include actors playing multiple ages. To double- or triple-cast age-appropriate actors would be doing a disservice to the playwright and his art.
	"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
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