The NECC Top Notch Players and the Liberal Arts Divisiom have refashioned theater as you know it with a virtual fall semester production of Love Letters.
Love Letters, a play originally created by playwright A.R. Gurney, is a charming slow-burning love story that allows you to experience the development of the relationship between two childhood friends, Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, as they exchange letters over a period of 50 years about family, love, loss, careers, and inevitable regrets.
The production was streamed from December 10 to December 12 on Zoom in a performance directed by NECC theater and communication professor, Brianne Beatrice. Though the Zoom performance date has passed, the production can also be accessed on Vimeo.com
The frivolous art-loving character, Melissa Gardner, played by Samantha Wheatley of Lowell, comes to life in this production as she wonderfully contrasts her long-time friend, the melodramatic and talkative Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, played by Stephen Caliskan of Acton, but nonetheless, they keep in contact with each other in all that they go through as they lean on each other through the highs and lows of growing up.
Theater lovers are sure to enjoy this performance for its intimate qualities. The subtle visuals of the characters picking up each letter before reciting it aloud and the change in tone that emerges as the characters’ grow older are just the tip of the iceberg to the dedicated performances of Wheatley and Caliskan.
The virtual play is an immersive experience for the viewers due to its intimate set up off of the stage and onto your screens, allowing the viewer to be less of an audience member and more of an onlooker onto the characters’ most cherished and confidential moments.
If you find yourself viewing Love Letters and loving what you see, The NECC Theater Program humbly encourages Venmo donations which can be made to @Brianne-Beatrice with the named donation entitled, “Love Letters.”
Donations such as these can help aid more student productions as well as increasing the quality and realism of future productions.
