2010 Love Letters

Prime-time stars chip in for Charleston Stage fundraiser
Lost Blood
by Erica Jackson

Charlestonians love a good celebrity sighting. After Saturday night’s event at the Dock Street Theatre, we should be set for a few weeks at least. Husband-and-wife duo Michael Emerson of ABC’s Lost and Carrie Preston of HBO’s True Blood appeared at the Charleston Stage fundraiser, performing a reading of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, followed by a brief but intimate Q&A session.

Preston is the pair’s Charleston connection. The actress, who’s also appeared in movies like Duplicity and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, briefly attended the College of Charleston and played Anne Frank in Charleston Stage’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank in 1986. “I found a home here,” Preston said, gesturing at the Dock Street stage where she’d performed years before. “I treasure this as one of my favorite things that happened when I lived here.”

Before the show, guests mingled in the Dock Street’s lobby and courtyard, sipping spiked lemonade cocktails. The reception began around dinner time, resulting in a very hungry crowd — they swarmed like locusts around the trays of hors d’oeuvres, wiping them out within seconds. During the performance, growling stomachs distracted an otherwise captive audience.

Emerson and Preston entered the stage hand in hand, then sat with their scripts at large desks on opposite sides. They went on to give an amusing and emotional reading of Gurney’s play, which explores the relationship between one couple through their letters, which span nearly half a century.

After the show, the pair took a seat with Charleston Stage Associate Artistic Director Marybeth Clark. Gushing fans asked weighty questions (like what would happen if the cast of True Blood landed on the Lost island), and the couple happily filled us in. They talked about watching each other on TV — Emerson has a crush on Preston’s True Blood character, Arlene. “I’m fascinated by this other woman she becomes, this trashy redhead,” he said. Preston, on the other hand, admitted to being a little scared of Emerson’s villainous Lost character, Ben Linus. “I’ve said to him, ‘Don’t ever look at me like that,’” she said.

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/lost-blood/Content?oid=2194281

Michael Emerson and Carrie Preston: In Love with Charleston Stage’s “Letters”
Thursday, August 5, 2010
By Elizabeth Bowers

Poor timing leads to a lifetime of disappointment for Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner in Love Letters. Played by Michael Emerson of “Lost” and Carrie Preston of “True Blood,” respectively, Saturday night at the Dock Street Theatre, the two characters began their exchange of letters at a young age. Seated at two desks in the newly renovated theatre, the actors read the childhood rants: apologies for unaccepted dance invitations and drawings of cats and bedpans—“Don’t you love its shape?

They continued with invites to Yale football games, birth announcements, and thank you’s for Senatorial votes. Over the course of 40 years, the two keep in touch, sometimes just with “Happy Birthday” and “Merry Christmas” notes and other years with pleas to spend some time together.

The Pulitzer Prize nominated Love Letters, written by A.R. Gurney, has been performed all over the country and on Broadway since its premiere in 1989.

It is hard to imagine the letters coming to life more poignantly by other actors. Emerson pronounces his R’s like W’s during his character’s youth and then naturally takes on the air of a Senator. Preston shifts around in her chair perfectly, crosses her arms and holds a somber look, when her character opts not to respond to a particular question, usually: “Did you get my last letter?” Married in real life, the two exude chemistry and enthusiasm while on stage together.

With such a well-written play—one that somehow makes you laugh while crying—and talented actors, Dock Street and Charleston Stage strongly reintroduced itself back into Charleston’s theatre scene.

http://www.michaelemerson.net/?p=1531