A.R. Gurney's LOVE LETTERS to Open at Spotlight Repertory Theatre Company This Month

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Spotlight Repertory Theatre Company will present a special engagement of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters, directed by Mimi McMann and starring Renée Rogers & Steve Witting and Mary Lee Marson Aloia & Jacques Stewart.

Performances are February 10 at 7:00pm (with Renée Rogers and Steve Witting) and February 11 at 3:00pm (with Mary Lee Marson Aloia and Jacques Stewart) at The Theatre at Empire Outlets (55 Richmond Terrace).

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, A.R. Gurney's Love Letters has been performed all over the country. Love Letters is a touching, funny and ultimately moving story of a 50-year-old correspondence between two childhood friends, Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, whose lifelong correspondence relationship weathers time and distance.

A.R. Gurney (1930-2017) was an award-winning playwright, novelist and academic. Among his many works are The Dining Room, The Cocktail Hour, The Perfect Party, Sweet Sue, Later Life, and Sylvia.

Steve Witting is an actor and director of theater, opera, television and film. He first found fame while starring in the 1980's comedy series Valerie/The Hogan Family. Other series: Tulsa King, The Outsider, Ozark, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development, 30 Rock. His films include: The Irishman, The Wolf of Wall Street, Bad Words, Shutter Island, Catch Me If You Can and the soon to be released Killers of the Flower Moon. In theater he has gotten laughs on stages from barn theater burlesque shows to The Metropolitan Opera with a stop-off in Snug Harbor for Spotlight's production of Mamma Mia.

Renée Rogers trained at NYU, Northwestern University, and launched into full blast, gypsy life after meeting her husband in summer-stock theater many decades ago. Living in L.A. for twenty years, she did commercials and wrote countless, outrageous characters in sketches performed as a member of two meccas of hilarity: Acme Comedy and The Groundlings Theater. Favorite, gut-busting collaborations with comediennes involved Jennifer Coolidge, Cheri Oteri and Mindy Sterling. She is especially proud to admit that motherhood has been way entertaining and that her grown daughter, Olivia, is tons of fun.TV: Friends, Prime Time Comedy, Tracey Takes On Theater: Breaking Legs, In One Bed & Out the Other, Cold Feet, Gypsy, The Adding Machine, The Liar, Merton of the Movies. Movies: Patch Adams, The Last Seduction. Renée is married to Steve Witting.

Mary Lee Marson Aloia is the Producing Director and co-founder of Spotlight Theatre Company and the owner of Staten Island Family Music Together. Mary Lee is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association, working as an actor on national tours, on cruise ships and in regional theaters across the country. Some of Mary Lee's favorite roles include: Rose in Gypsy, Gladys Calhoun in Memphis (NH Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress), Eva Peron in Evita and Helen Bechdel in Fun Home. Mary Lee is grateful for her family & the Spotlight Theatre community!

Jacques Stewart is an award-winning director, choreographer, writer, and performer. He is the Artistic Director for Spotlight Theatre Staten Island and ArtBridge in Antigua, Guatemala. He is the former Artistic Director of The Weathervane Theatre in New Hampshire where he founded WINDSOCK Theatre camp for children and the Weathervane College Intern Program. He is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association and The Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. Some of Jacques most beloved roles include Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird and Harold Hill in The Music Man. Jacques original musicals, Dream Big and Robyn Hood

received grants from SIArts, for which he is grateful! Jacques & Mary Lee Marson Aloia are the founders of Spotlight Theatre Company.

Love Letters was first performed by the playwright A.R. Gurney and Holland Taylor as a benefit for the NYPL in 1988. John Tillinger directed the regional premiere with Joanna Gleason and John Rubinstein at the Long Wharf Theatre, followed by the long-running Off Broadway at the Promenade Theatre and Broadway premiere at the Edison Theatre in 1989. Brian Dennehy and Mia Farrow headlined the 2014 Broadway revival.

Tickets for Love Letters are $30 online at https://our.show/spotlightloveletters and $35 at the door. Stop by Empire Outlets Wasabi Steak and Sushi for a free Edamame or Shumai appetizer with your order! Just show them your ticket! The performance schedule for Love Letters is as follows: Friday at 7:00pm and Saturday at 3:00pm.

About Spotlight Theatre:

Staten Island's Premier Not-for-Profit Professional Theatre Company, providing a year-round repertory of plays and musicals that inspire, Challenge, Surprise & Excite audiences of all ages. Under the artistic leadership of Jacques Stewart - Artistic Director and Mary Lee Aloia - Producing Director, Spotlight Repertory Theatre produces a mix of classic and contemporary plays and musicals.

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