From Letters to Love On Stage at Northlight

It’s not so unusual when you give it a little thought.  People meet online all the time and use the written word as their bridge to connect to others.  Using apps like Bumble or Hinge as matching tools is all but de riguer these days.  That reality takes a little of the quaintness out of Dear Jack, Dear Louise, a lovely story about love just beginning its run at Skokie’s Northlight Theatre.  Set during the early days of the second World War, it shows how words exchanged on paper can lead to lasting attachment.

Where we find ourselves at any given moment in time influences how we see the world.  It’s best to temper responses like that.   There’s never been a golden age when the realities of political or social life didn’t cause despair and hardship to large segments of the population all around the globe.  Romanticizing the past is to negate the fullness of its reality.

Ken Ludwig, playwright for Dear Jack, Dear Louise, made no attempt to dilute the difficulties of the times in this tribute to his parents and the early days of their romance.  The play’s a far stretch from his usual territory, comedy.  A gifted playwright who won his first Tony very early in his career with his farce, Lend Me a Tenor; Dear Jack Dear Louise is much more personal.  It may even be considered the creative consequence of a lifelong fascination with the rarity of his parents’ love story. 

Wondering how our parents met is a natural curiosity and the way Ludwig’s mother and father eventually came together began innocently enough.  Each of their parents thought they might make a good match and should meet. The war defined the times and a face-to-face wouldn’t work.  Educated and trained as a doctor, Ludwig’s father, Jack, had been drafted into the army and stationed far away from New York City where his mother, Louise, was trying to break into show business.  Something in what Jack and Louise’s parents told them about each other was favorable enough for them to begin a conversation.  One that adhered to the norms of the day; through letters.

It sometimes takes a while for the human heart to reveal itself.  Jack and Louise were no different.  Nine years older, he was cautionary and formal.  At 21, she was more forthright and relaxed; but still prudently guarded.  Ludwig describes his mother as flamboyant and spirited, “like Lucille Ball and Rosalind Russell rolled into one”.   It’s Louise’s humor and candor that fills the play with so much warmth and appealing truth. Sarah Price portrays Louise during her aspiring actress days and glows with the kind of confidence and tenacity it takes to ride the ruthless bull of Broadway auditions. Brooklyn born with a level head and no illusions about the world, she exudes a kind of wisdom completely devoid of cynicism.  Attuned to the world and willing to give it chance, the letters she sends aren’t asking for anything more than what she’s willing to offer, honesty and understanding.  Both qualities will quietly determine the fate of Jack’s and Louise’s romantic adventure as we watch it unfurl like a suspense novel.

The rigors of the war and the demands of her career thwart their attempts to rendezvous in New York for a long overdue in the flesh date.  Beginning in the spring of 1942, their letters to one another would become a constant stream; continuing for weeks, then months and eventually years.   Through them we learn a lot about these two young people navigating their individual realities as they learn to understand, accept and encourage each other’s goals and ambitions.  Older and more mature, he does most of the cheerleading as she keeps going to audition after audition until she hits pay dirt.  Jack, wonderfully played by Casey Hoekstra, is less forthcoming about the toll of being an active duty doctor during wartime takes on his psyche.  Fortunately, he has the equanimity to draw strength from the resilience of his patients.  When he gets orders to go to Europe and provide care on the front line, we get a display of courage in its various shades and see again how closely it stands to fear.

By the time of his deployment to Europe, the letters between Jack and Louise reflect a comfort and knowledge reserved for valued friends.  Because their alliance carried higher stakes, where commitment was not yet understood, fragility remained one its strongest characteristic.  Watching how time, attraction and conscious dedication would eventually turn something delicate into something much more substantial counts as one of the chief joys of Dear Jack, Dear Louise.

Writing, direction and staging all had their own very robust charms.  The first two seemed almost magical in the way they captured and held your imagination throughout the performance.  There was no overindulgence.  Every word was important in understanding these two people who captivated because they projected such normalcy and relatability.  Existing in their own private spheres on either side of the stage, they used each other’s words to build a common space.  The technique deployed to accomplish this may harken back to the birthplace of theater but felt completely novel and ingenious.   It’s also where the shrewdness of Fisch’s direction shines brightest. 

Yeaji Kim’s set design and Izumi Inaba’s costumes are case studies in understated brilliance.  They both tell their own stories about life 80 years ago that seem light years away from where we are today.  But as Dear Jack, Dear Louise makes vividly clear, it’s what’s on the inside that counts and never changes. 

Dear Jack, Dear Louise

Through August 7^th, 2022

Northlight Theatre

9501 Skokie Blvd.

Skokie, IL   60077

www.northlight.org