Longtime locals Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw are doing a lot of readin’ and writin’ these days. They joined forces once again for a production of A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters” at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Bev Hills.
As Malibu Seen reported earlier this year, it’s the first time the beloved duo has worked together since their box office tearjerker “Love Story,” which wowed movie fans 45 years ago. The disarmingly funny and heartbreaking production tells the story of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner. Their history unfolds through exchanged letters that span over 50 years from second grade well into adulthood.
The stage is stark with two chairs and two people who sit beside each other before a reading table. Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner are both manor born, hailing from high society families. They begin corresponding in the second grade after Andy attends Melissa’s birthday party. Andy gets hooked on writing as a vehicle for personal expression. They continue their conversations through boarding schools and college. They track each others’ lives as they fall in love (with other people), marry, divorce, raise children and struggle with addictions. Their relationship deepens through the years and they remain close in spirit, even though life keeps them apart.
You can think of it as a way people communicated with each other way before texting, Facebook and iChat.
“Love Letters” has featured many a famous pair, most recently Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott at the Malibu Playhouse. That show ran one night only and, appropriately, it took place on Valentine’s Day. It was first performed in 1988 and has become a staple of regional theaters across the country. Other famous twosomes include Candice Bergen and Alan Alda, Mia Farrow and Brian Denney, as well as Denney and Carol Burnett.
Ryan and Ali just wrapped up their version and are off on a national tour. Their next performance is scheduled to take place in Boston in 2016.
GETTING SWELLIGENT WITH STEVE
And a big shout out to my buddy Steve Tyrell who had them singing and swinging in the aisles at Pepperdine University. Steve presided over a special one-night gig and did not disappoint. We first met at an animal fundraiser where I mistook him for the sound check guy with an excellent grasp of the American songbook. Soon, he turned me into a fan. He reinvented and repopularized classic standards for a modern day audience. His breakthrough performance came with the flick “Father of the Bride,” and he’s been singing “The Way You Look Tonight” ever since. He’s sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate following the world over. At the request of the Sinatra family and Quincy Jones, he was a featured performer when Old Blue Eyes was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. He’s a regular at the Café Carlyle in New York City, once home to the great Bobby Short.
But this was Malibu’s night, and he delighted the crowd with “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Come Fly with Me” and left us all “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.” Bravo!