As Love Letters takes centre stage at the Lionel Wendt Theatre, audiences are being drawn into A.R. Gurney’s evocative romantic comedy, which captures the poignant beauty of a friendship that endures for nearly six decades. Running from February 13 to 16, 2025, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play reveals the intricate, often humorous, and deeply human connection between childhood friends Melissa Gardner (Tracy Holsinger) and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Mohamed “Adam” Adamaly). Their bond is built on the simple yet profound act of writing letters - a practice that Gurney uses to explore love, loss, and the passage of time.

Set against the backdrop of a changing world, Love Letters unfolds entirely through the written correspondence between Melissa and Andrew. What begins as playful exchanges in their youth transforms into a decades-long conversation that mirrors the trials and triumphs of their lives. As they share their deepest desires, regrets, and unspoken words through letters, their friendship - sometimes tender, sometimes fraught - remains a steady constant, even as their paths diverge. In a world where communication has been reduced to fleeting texts and emails, the play reminds us of the evocative power of the handwritten word, once capable of carrying the weight of an entire relationship.

In this production, directed by Nafeesa K. Amiruddeen, Holsinger and Adamaly imbue their performances with a rare emotional precision. The play’s simple staging - where the actors remain seated, reading aloud the letters they’ve written to each other - does not rely on grand gestures or movement, but rather on the delicate interplay of words, pauses, and silences. Each letter feels as alive as the moment it was penned, and the actors’ restraint lends a quiet intimacy to the performance that speaks volumes about the nature of the characters’ bond.

With opening night now behind them, the actors have already pulled audiences into the quiet magic of the play’s premise, leaving them to reflect on how Love Letters continues to resonate in an era where we have lost the art of the written letter. In this Q&A, the stars of the show share their personal insights into their characters, the unique challenges of performing a play constructed entirely of letters, and why Love Letters remains a timeless exploration of love, communication, and the human desire to connect.

Questions

1. If you could describe your character’s emotional journey in one sentence, what would it be?
2. The entire play unfolds through letters. How does that shape the way you approach your performance, compared to a more traditional script with physical interactions?
3. Melissa and Andy share a deep yet complicated connection. Do you think their relationship would have survived in the modern age of instant messaging and social media?
4. What was the most challenging moment in the play for you to perform, and why?
5. If your character could send one final letter that never made it into the play, what would it say?
6. What is one lesson audiences can take away from Melissa and Andy’s story about love, friendship, and communication?

Tracy Holsinger (Melissa Gardner)

1. ⁠Her emotional journey is a chaotic rollercoaster ride from start to finish.
2. ⁠The directions in the play require the actors to be seated throughout, and also not to look at each other, so my approach has been to listen more and to react to what I'm hearing. I've also worked a lot on how I use my voice and face.
3. Yes, I think their friendship would survive. I think Andy would probably have someone running his accounts, and Melissa would be quite fun on X and Instagram.
4. The most challenging part for me is right at the end, where Melissa confronts and admits some truths about herself. She's devastated and incredibly vulnerable, and it requires a lot of control to deliver her words without being too self-indulgent at the moment.
5. ⁠Melissa is an artist and communicates a lot through drawings as well as letters throughout the play. I think her last letter to Andy would probably be a drawing of something that would have a lot of meaning for them both. 
6. ⁠Hold on, no matter what, to the people who are dearest to you. It will not always be the smoothest journey - there'll be fights, and years where you lose touch, but always hold space in your heart for that person, because they are home, they are anchors in your life.

Mohamed (Adam) Adamaly (Andrew Makepeace Ladd III)

1. A rollercoaster of every emotion every one of us has experienced in life, all packed into 100 minutes!!
2. A huge challenge. Quite unlike any other style of theatre. The interactions are distant, yet very intimate, and the playing is very unique. 
3. I think it would. However their “messages” would lack depth and literature. Melissa would adapt better than Andy, and Andy would detest emojis!!!
4. I would think it’s the end phase of the play, but actually, the greater challenge is the psychological process of journeying from age 6 to the late 50s, in under 2 hours!!! 
5. It would be blank. The thoughts going through his head beyond the play can only be expressed in silence. 
6. There are so many, and everyone would, I think take away something slightly different. I would take away the message that while life is dictated largely by the choices we make, shaping them only according to the “roles” we are expected to play, does not often bring joy. Also, the friendships you make in childhood are true, and transparent, bare of any cloak of pretence, and therefore hold strong through life.