Dear Elizabeth

A Play in Letters From Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and Back Again

By: Sarah Ruhl

Narrated by: Julian Sands, JoBeth Williams

The complicated relationship between the poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell is revealed in nearly 30 years' worth of correspondence. Taken from their exchange of letters, Dear Elizabeth is a study in friendship, intimacy, and the power of words.

Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in July 2015.

Directed by Rosalind Ayres
Producing Director Susan Albert Loewenberg
Julian Sands as Robert Lowell
JoBeth WIlliams as Elizabeth Bishop
Narration performed by Chris Hatfield

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke Weiskopf
Recording and Mixing Engineer: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood
Sound Effects Artist: Jeff Gardner

©2014 Sarah Ruhl (P)2015 L.A. Theatre Works

spectacular history of words.

I've studied literature and this relationship resonates continuously through out history. Troung Tran and Wanda Davis more recently. sometimes cantankerous, sometimes heart warming and a comfort that's warmer that blanket in from of the fire. Sarah Ruhl does it again. Her writing will sweep you away.

A rich source of material played for the laugh..

These were both smart people with talent and proven published work. I feel in this presentation they were portrayed as idiots. The structure of the concept had merit. Where I felt what went wrong was in the portrayal and the direction of the work. In an attempt to get laughs the director lost the heart of these two characters . Try to play it with heart and the laughs will come. Don't play it for the laughs.