Dear Jack, Review Dear Louise – A Wartime Courtship of Letters Offers an Intimate Love Story | stage

TIts epistolary story of two people looking for love is the complete antithesis of a modern-day dating app. Set in a time when letters were not as fickle but slower as the postal service, this is a delightful romantic comedy through letters. The film features Jack (Preston Nyman) and Louise (Eva Weiler), who begin writing to each other because family members think they might be a match. It’s 1942, Jack is a military doctor treating burns and amputations while Louise is a dancer trying to break into Broadway musicals.

It goes from a strict opening engagement to a chalk-and-cheese meeting of the minds and then evolves into a real relationship, all without either of them meeting, and the first date is forever postponed because Jack can’t take a vacation, or Louise is on a touring show.

Written in 2019 by Ken Ludwig, a well-respected figure on Broadway (he wrote the book for the musical Crazy For You, among other accomplishments), and there isn’t the same “will they-they won’t-they” dramatic tension if you already know that the story is based on the story of Ludwig’s parents. Still, it makes you rally for this couple, even despite the seemingly familiar characters, who speak in broad tones to the wartime soundtrack of all the golden oldies. Ludwig elevates the whole thing beyond cliché.

Directed by Simon Reid, the strength of the production also lies in its simplicity: two actors give remarkably honest performances at opposite ends of the stage. She feels an irreparable warmth towards them as they try to extract happiness in wartime.

It’s sweet, funny, and surprisingly touching, even when it leans into a nostalgic weepy spirit. Besides the increasingly passionate love story, it contains the romance of letters – the intimacy between them and the ink and paper, the having to wait and the physical touch.

The twist towards the end tries too hard to add unnecessary emotional danger. You really feel for this couple, and you want the war to end so they can be together. Yes, it’s an idea as popular as Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again,” but it’s also an idea that’s irresistibly heart-warming.