Actors Stacy Keach and Jane Romney bring to life the love story of famous poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways …
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach …
When Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote these lyrics in 1850, she had little idea that her passionate prose would one day provide the template for the quintessential love poem, let alone millions of Hallmark greeting cards.
Yet “Sonnets from the Portuguese” was inspired by one of the most enduring love stories of Western history-that of Barrett and her fierce admirer, husband and fellow poet, Robert Browning.
On Aug. 2, actors Stacy Keach and Jane Romney will bring that love to life once more in “A Love Like No Other,” presented by the Malibu Stage Co., in a piece written and directed by the actors themselves that draws upon the extensive writings and love letters exchanged by Barrett and Browning.
“We originally wanted to just put together some of their letters and poetry for a public reading,” Romney said in a telephone interview. “But it kept trying to develop into something more dramatic. Stacy said, ‘We need to modernize this and make it more relevant to today.’ I said, ‘Well, who’s going to do that?’ So, we just wrote it.”
Romney, the sister of recent presidential aspirant Mitt Romney and daughter of former Michigan governor George Romney, eschewed politics and pursued a theatrical career following an early marriage and painful separation. Though her father “didn’t get it,” Romney was born with performing genes.
“My mom was an MGM starlet, Lenore LaFount, before she married my father. And my divorce propelled me to soul search for what I was meant to do,” Romney said. “I realized my passion was acting, so I applied to ACT (American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco). Reciting Shakespeare helped me to deal with my grief.”
Her political family didn’t think much of her aspirations and her traditional Mormon upbringing was perhaps at odds with a thespian lifestyle, but Romney loved acting.
“I loved going beyond the stereotypes,” Romney said. “And as for being a Mormon, well, religion is only as good as it frees you to be yourself.”
“Being herself” led to work in daytime television and on stage, as well as developing a keen ear for theatrical writing. Years later, she saw Keach perform and thought to herself, “That’s the kind of actor I want to be.”
They met and a working relationship was born.
“I always loved Browning and Barrett, and their love story resonated with me,” Romney said. “When Stacy and I decided to work on this project, he was the perfect editor for my writing and it clicked.”
The finished play was compelling enough for Veronique Peck, wife of the late actor Gregory Peck, to invite them to perform “A Love Like No Other” for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and, ultimately, the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh.
Keach continues to be one of America’s most prolific actors (he will be touring next year with “Frost/Nixon,” Peter Morgan’s Tony Award-winning play) and is taking a weekend out of a hectic shooting schedule for a children’s television series to perform in Malibu.
“Barrett and Browning’s relationship was so unique when you compare it to 21st century moral sensitivities,” Keach said. “We don’t buy this kind of devotion. But they were an inspiration for the human spirit.”
Elizabeth Barrett was a profound intellectual and already a poet of note in mid-19th century England when Robert Browning, a writer of limited success, began to write to her of his professional admiration for her work.
She was an aging, invalid spinster, virtually held prisoner in her own home by her overbearing father, but was intrigued with Browning’s admiration.
When they finally met, a love blossomed that inspired soaring lyricism and unyielding disapprobation by the elder Mr. Barrett.
The lovers wed secretly and ran off to Italy, produced a son and lived a happy and productive 16 years before her death devastated Browning in 1861. During this time, she wrote the love sonnets for which she is remembered most, as well as the verse-novel “Aurora Leigh” and a volume of political poetry. It was only after Browning’s return to London that his own career took off.
“The language of their letters is somewhat archaic, but it speaks to the heart,” Keach said. “So, for the play, we constructed dialogue that is palatable to modern audiences, but true to their narrative.”
Keach said the play features not only their poetry and letters but also the dramatic story behind their love.
“Elizabeth’s isolation allowed her to distill what she learned from volumes of study,” Romney said. “She didn’t identify with the flowery poets of her time and her work is timeless.”
Romney believes that the Brownings’ love, which overcame rigid societal obstacles, will speak to audiences of today.
“We all believe in true love and we want it,” Romney said. “But we sabotage it. We are too casual and cynical. But their love touches a chord in people that says, ‘Don’t throw this away. It’s real and it endures.'”
Or, as Barrett wrote, “… and, if God chooses, I shall but love thee better after death.”
“A Love Like No Other” will have two performances only, August 2 and 3, at Malibu Stage Co. Theatre, 29243 Pacific Coast Highway. Tickets and information can be obtained by calling 310.589.1998.