LOVE LETTERS by AR Gurney is an enormously successful play. Ingenious in its design, an actor and actress sit at tables or stand at podiums and just read love letters. So no blocking or rehearsal or memorization is ever really needed. Actors can easily rotate in and out of the piece and frequently do. This can result in prestigious A-level actor pairings but there have also been productions by Charlton and Lydia Heston. Since I couldn’t attend either of those I shall wait to see LOVE LETTERS until one of the following pairings is announced:
Ann Coulter & Al Franken
Woody Allen & Mia Farrow
Donald Trump & Megyn Kelly
Bruce Jenner & Caitlin Jenner
Marc Cherry & Nicollette Sheridan
Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner
Billy Bob Thornton & Angelina Jolie
Tom Cruise & anyone
Mary Tyler Moore & Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
Regis Philbin & Kelly Rippa
Dr. Laura & Dr. Phil
Liza Minelli & David Gest
Donnie & Marie
Paula Abdul & Simon Cowell
George W. Bush & a mannequin
Andrew Dice Clay & Amy Grant
Bjork & Bob Dylan
Kermit & Miss Piggy
Matt Lauer & Ann Curry
Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt
Pamela Anderson & Rick Salomon (divorced for the third time)
Stephen Collins & anyone
And of course, Broadway’s favorite stunt casting duo, whether they fit the roles or not….
Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick
I was going to add Clint Eastwood and an empty chair but that one's already been done.
ReplyDeleteGarner
ReplyDeleteHi Ken
ReplyDeleteQuestion unrelated to your "Love Letters" Post. Maybe a Friday question? Your Post on the Drew Carey Show got me to thinking about a show he co-starred on prior to the Drew Carey Show. The show was on NBC and called "The Good Life". It lasted less than half a season but man I thought that show was funny and always wished it had lasted nine seasons instead of TDCS. Another sitcom for me that was cancelled way too soon was a show called "The Texas Wheelers" which had Jack Elam, Gary Busey, and Mark Hamill. A couple more are The "Rounders" with Chill Wills, and "Run Buddy Run" both of witch go way back to the 1960's. My question for you Ken is going back to the days when there were only three networks, are there any shows that you admired or enjoyed and thought were cancelled way too soon?
Some years ago THE GETAWAY aired late at night on TV in my neck of the woods. Steve McQueen and MacGraw showed terrific chemistry; they probably would have been a great pairing for LOVE LETTERS, too.
ReplyDeleteBack about 20 years ago when I still lived in LA, I was in Tower Records' Northridge store around Christmas time looking a over the holiday CD selection and happened to turn to my right -- and there stood Ali McGraw, looking as pretty as I remembered her from the 70's, also browsing. I was too self-conscious to say anything (not even a nervous "Happy Holidays!") but went back to looking at the CDs. They say you get used to seeing celebrities in LA, but every now and then, you see one you never expected to see in person, and know only as a dreamy celluloid image on a giant movie screen. She was one of them.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of updating: How often do you update your "favorite links" to the right of the page? I click on some of them and see that the last entry on some of them was in 2010, 12, 13 or 14. Some are even gone when I click on the links. I can see the others running their sites not updating it every day or couple of weeks or so, but a year or more is pushing it. {RichBroRadio, GreatBigRadio, HyLitRadio are fantastic; good enough that I've decided against starting my own online radio site. I can't compete with them!]
ReplyDeleteDear Ken,
ReplyDeleteI love posts like these because they set of a creative spark in me. I can't read a list like this without wanting to add a few ideas of my own, so here goes.
People I'd like to see in "Love Letters":
Kirstie Alley and George Lopez
Barack Obama and John Boehner
Sarah Silverman and Larry the Cable Guy
Pat Robertson and Chelsea Handler
Chuck Lorre and Roseanne
Chuck Lorre and Brett Butler
Chuck Lorre and Cybil Shepard
I'd like to mention that this is not meant as a shot at Chuck Lorre. Track down his essay in the book "The First Time I got paid for It" for a hilarious anecdote about creative integrity and "Beany and Cecil."
Another perfect "Love Letters" pairing:
ReplyDeleteWhoopee Goldberg and Michael Richards.
I suspect Bjork and Dylan would do it.
ReplyDeleteGeorge W. Bush & a mannequin
ReplyDeleteI sure hate to be the mannequin having to carry GWB. That would be a tough part.
Wow, you know Ryan O’Neal. Very cool. I love SO FINE and WHAT’S UP DOC and CHANCES ARE. I have also enjoyed a number of his other works but those especially are favorites. I always wanted to work with him. Anyway very cool.
ReplyDelete