Gurney's LOVE LETTERS Comes to JCAT-Pro In North Miami Beach

J's Cultural Arts Theatre/JCAT Pro will present A.R. Gurney's LOVE LETTERS, the third production of the inaugural season of the new Alan & Diane Lieberman Theater & the JCAT's 12th season, at the Feldenkreis/Hanono Cultural Center at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC/Sanford L. Ziff Campus in North Miami Beach, Florida. Running from February 6-17, 2019, LOVE LETTERS is directed by JCAT's Artistic Director, Michael Andron. Lighting Design is by Zachary Pitchman, with Costume Design by Carole Barou-Mootoo. The production is presented through the MARJCC's Cultural Arts Department.

Starring this special benefit production are two of JCAT's favorite real-life couples, Lillian & Michael Andron and John Ferry & Debbie Bekefi, performing on alternate nights.

A.R. Gurney was named a Pulitzer finalist in 1990, for LOVE LETTERS, his two-hander drama that traces the epistolary romance between a straight-arrow man who becomes a U.S. Senator & a free-spirited woman who follows an uneven road in life. The play was performed by two actors sitting at a table & reading the letters to one another over the decades. The 1989 Broadway production, directed by John Tillinger, originated at Long Wharf Theatre in CT, staring husband & wife, Jason Robards & Colleen Dewhurst.

Asked why he chose LOVE LETTERS, director Michael Andron stated, "One of the reasons I love theatre is that it allows us to get inside a character's soul to see how they react to the people & things around them. The idea is to walk in someone else's shoes & to see the world through their eyes; you'll never look at an 'other' in the same way. When we do that - and theatre is one of the paramount ways to do that - then it can help bring light, understanding & empathy into the world. It's what can unite us, rather than divide us. That's why I love this play & why I wanted to do it."

LILLIAN & MICHAEL ANDRON (Director) are the Founding Artistic Directors of JCAT. A true renaissance man, Michael is an ordained Mohel, a Tai Chi Grand Master & 7th Degree Black Belt, yoga adept & a researcher/practitioner in holistic medicine. He is director of Kodesh Center, a non-profit foundation for personal growth, Body-Mind-Energy development & Jewish Mindfulness Training. As an actor, Michael is proud to have appeared in the long-running, Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks. During the 2016-2017 season he had the pleasure of directing JCATPro's first production of the critically acclaimed debut of Broken Snow by Ben Andron, under the auspices of Actor's Equity Association. Lillian is involved with every production, as actor, administrator, acting coach, backstage assistant & Michael's right hand. If it needs doing, Lillian does it! She trained at NYU, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts & is certified by the True Acting Institute in the Meisner Approach to Acting. In addition to her many acclaimed performances on the JCAT stage, she has appeared in local commercials & TV shows.

John Ferry & DEBBIE BEKEFI both appeared in last season's Last Night of Ballyhoo, as well as Lend Me a Tenor, , Moon Over Buffalo, Radium Girls, Lost in Yonkers, I Hate Hamlet, Inherit the Wind & Rumors, which John also directed. Other JCAT productions he has directed include Steel Magnolias, Don't Drink the Water, Jack & the Beanstalk & Rumplestiltskin. Debbie made her JCAT debut in John Lennon & Me, following that with Don't Drink the Water & Steel Magnolias. John has performed as an actor in each of the contiguous United States while touring as Templeton in Charlotte's Web & Howie Kemp in the world premiere of Ramona Quimby. Debbie & John moved to South Florida eight years ago from New York City, where she performed with many local theatre companies.

A.R. Gurney (Playwright) was a remarkably prolific playwright who wrote nearly 50 full-length plays, but only four were produced on Broadway. Called "Pete" by his friends, he grew up in Buffalo, NY & many of his plays reflected the gradual decline of his home town, such as The Cocktail Hour & especially The Dining Room, which was cited as a finalist for the 1984 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Educated at Williams College, Gurney served a stint in the Navy & subsequently studied playwriting at the Yale School of Drama. He made his Broadway debut in 1987, with Sweet Sue, starring Mary Tyler Moore.

J's CULTURAL ARTS THEATRE (JCAT) (Producer) is the performing theatre of the Michael-Ann Russell JCC, a year-round program for youth, teens & adults, where participants are part of a magical world of theatre, with a full season of productions, theatre camps & a wide range of classes & workshops in acting, improvisation & technical theatre. Now celebrating its 12th season, JCAT is committed to challenge, enlighten, educate & entertain its audiences through its multi-tier program. JCAT-Pro is an Equity professional company, which received a Carbonell Recommendation for its first World Premiere production, Broken Snow, written by Ben Andron. Artistic Directors, Michael & Lillian Andron, received the South Florida Theatre League's REMY Award for outstanding contribution to Community Theatre.

DATES: February 6-17, 2019
Wednesdays & Thursdays @ 7:30pm, Saturdays @ 8pm & Sunday Matinees @ 2pm

LOCATION: Alan & Diane Lieberman Theater @ the Michael-Ann Russell JCC
18900 NE 25th Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL

TICKETS: Advance: $25 ~ $15 (seniors/students)
At the Door: $30 ~ $18 (seniors/students)
Both Casts: $40 ~ $24 (seniors/students)

RESERVATIONS: (866)-811-4111 https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/28215

INFORMATION: www.jcctheatre.com (305)-932-4200, ext. 150

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