'Hate Mail' The Boca Raton Theatre Guild's Satirical Alternative To 'Love Letters'

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild's production of
Hate Mail
a Snappy and Satirical Alternative to Love Letters

The Big Apple Shop
Attn: Customer Relations Department
Dear Sir and/or Madam:

"On a recent trip to New York for some architecture-gazing, I visited your shop and purchased the large snow-globe diorama depicting the wonders of your fair metropolis .....As you'll see from the fragments enclosed, the whimsical item in question did not survive the flight home to Minneapolis. Please send me a refund .... A receipt is enclosed. I thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.
Yours, Preston Dennis, Jr."

"To: Preston Dennis, Junior
Re: Request for Refund

There are no refunds.

The Big Apple Shop" 

So begins 'Hate Mail,' Bill Corbett's and Kira Obolensky's epistolary alternative to A. R. Gurney's 'Love Letters.' Corbett and Obolensky were "originally inspired by two things: 1) the idea of doing a parody of 'Love Letters' (which was produced in 2009 by the Boca Raton Theatre Guild), and 2) the intriguing possibility of writing it in actual correspondence between two authors.

"We quickly strayed from the first idea, and never went back," the playwrights explain. "While we retained the title from that initial impulse, it was clear from our very first working conversations that 'Hate Mail' would not be a parody (or a ‘spoof', or - our favorite - a ‘wacky send-up') of 'Love Letters'  Its two correspondents live in a nastier, more venal - and admittedly, much sillier world."

'Hate Mail's' director, Paula Sackett was amused and intrigued by the script. "Although the entire play consists of letters and other correspondence, there's a whole lot of room for action and creative interpretation. And I've got two excellent actors, Adam Simpson and Carrie Santanna, who are keenly attuned to what's needed. We're having a great time with 'Hate Mail,' and I know audiences will too." 

2010 marks Paula Sackett's 50th year in theatre and theatre related ventures. She has been an actor, singer, director, and technician. She has served as the executive director of the Lake Worth Playhouse, business manager of the Actors Repertory Company in West Palm Beach, and the managing Artistic Director of her own Studio Theatre of Wellington. Her directing credits include Lucky Stiff, The Taffetas, Godspell, The Zoo Story, and From Door to Door plus several religious productions, one-act plays and children's theatre productions.  

Adam Simpson has performed locally in Rock and Roll (Mosaic Theatre), and R & J and The Lonesome West (Naked Stage). He received a Carbonell nomination as best supporting actor in the New Theatre's production of Hamlet. He has appeared on television in Burn Notice and The Glades. 

Carrie Santanna has appeared in Palm Beach Dramaworks' production of The Deadly Game, at the Kravis Center in Outtabounds III, and The Edge Theatre in All in the Timing. She also worked for the West Boca Theatre Company in Don't Drink the Water, the Hollywood Boulevard Theatre in Romeo and Juliet, and the Naked Stage's 24 Hour Theatre Project.  

'Hate Mail' will run from December 3rd - December 12th at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton's Sugar Sand Park. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. All tickets are $10, and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Willow Theatre box office at 561-347-3948. For more information please visit the Boca Raton Theatre Guild's website at www.brtg.org.  

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