BWW Reviews: LOVE LETTERS Gets Forwarded To Carol Burnett

By design, every production of A.R. Gurney's Pulitzer Prize finalist Love Letters shares the same staging. The actors playing Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, both born of educated and cultured WASP privilege, sit center stage at a table and, never relating to each other directly, read aloud the lifetime of scribbles, notes, letters, post cards, formal invitations, obligatory holiday greetings and desperate pleas for help that served as their main form of communication during their decades-long relationship.

So the challenge here for the actor is to create a fully-realized character almost exclusively through verbal communication. It ain't easy.

Director Gregory Mosher's Broadway production opened a month ago with Mia Farrow as the free-spirited Melissa, a flirtatious button-pusher who settles in New York after college and suffers through a bad marriage and addictions while trying to establish herself as an artist. Paired with her was Brian Dennehy as her childhood crush and potential college boyfriend who, after a stint in the Navy, leads a more straight-laced life getting married, having a family and becoming a United States Senator.

Though a scheduled parade of celebrity pairings will be occupying the Atkinson in short stints as the run carries on (Candice Bergen and Alan Alda, Diana Rigg and Stacy Keach and Anjelica Huston and Martin Sheen have been announced.) only 50% of the cast has been replaced this week, as Carol Burnett joins Dennehy at the table.

With less than a week of performances before being displayed to the reviewing press, being overly critical about the beloved comedy legend's performance may seem less than charitable. Certainly her fans won't be disappointed, but for now Burnett's rather formal interpretation lacks the interesting textures of the character. Naturally, the role's humor comes out more, but her use of the occasional laugh-getting deadpan or the sudden deepening of the voice overshadows more involved character work.

On the other hand Dennehy's Andrew has warmed up a bit; perhaps a reaction to his new acting partner or maybe just an actor's natural evolution during a month of performances. He's still a guarded man who keeps his emotions in check as he pursues the traditional lifestyle that's appropriate for a high-powered politician, but he's added softer, sweeter moments enhancing the evening. His interpretation of the character's final letter has changed significantly, adding a thoughtful new twist.

As a handsome tribute to written words - those spoken in public and those read in private - Love Letters remains a tender and enjoyable encounter with human expression.

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