Review: The Old Globe offers a lovely and romantic interactive theatre event in DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE: A LOVE LETTER EXPERIENCE

DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE: A LOVE LETTER EXPERIENCE is the newest virtual and interactive theatre event from The Old Globe and offers a thoroughly captivating, romantic, and lovely experience delivered to you through the mail. Mailings continue on the 1st and 15th of each month while supplies last.

The last year has been all about thinking outside of the theatrical box and theatres have responded with many different ways to create an experience, but it is rare to have one that is as successful at delivering as these mailings. Playwright Ken Ludwig, who has brought many laughs to the Globe stages brings the sweet and personal story of his parent's courtship via letter during World War II.

Captain Jacob S. Ludwig and aspiring actress Louise Rabiner had never met and weren't even geographically near each other when they started writing to each other. As letters arrive at your mailbox over the course of 6 weeks you experience their lovely journey as they go from strangers to friends, to a love story. In a world that moves so fast and has so much instant communication the letters evoke a time where letters are intimate and revealing as the writers talk about themselves. Spanning the course of a few years it is sweet and romantic to see how strong their connection becomes even from a distance.

There is inherent suspense in waiting for a letter, one that the mailings use to its advantage. The timing turns the recipient into someone living that heightened feeling of waiting for the postal carrier to deliver the mail to see what the next letter says. I imagine this is a truly unique feeling for many today.

The letters themselves are beautifully rendered by the Properties Department of The Old Globe. Not only do they show the personalities of each correspondent, but as different types of mail arrive the recipient also gets a thrill of receiving something that looks like old-fashioned air mail, and a worry when you opening a very official-looking letter.

Conceived by Teresa Sapien at Arena Stage the letters are a wonderfully tactile and lasting theatrical experience that needs no internet connection, or zoom meeting invite to experience.

DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE: A LOVE LETTER EXPERIENCE is a truly impactful virtual theatre offering that offers the joy of human connection and that rush of falling in love. It's not to be missed!

DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE: A LOVE LETTER EXPERIENCE has a July 1st second group mailing start date, and mailing groups will continue on the 1st and the 15th of each month while supplies last. Go to www.theoldglobe.org to purchase your household reservations.

Photo credit: E.H. Reiter, materials from The Old Globe