Produced by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company
ABOUT THE PLAY
In 1947, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell’s first letters sparked a friendship that spanned 30 years, crossing continents and filling countless pages. Their correspondence, a blend of poetry and personal musings, became the anchor of their tumultuous lives. Despite rare meetings, their connection transcended the bounds of a traditional love story, evolving into a profound friendship.
Dear Elizabeth peeks into the private lives of two literary giants, revealing their vulnerabilities, insecurities, and the intimacy of their bond. Sarah Ruhl creates a poignant narrative by weaving the poets’ letters together, providing a window into their extraordinary connection, the enduring power of their words, and, ultimately, the transformative power of language and art.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
I read a lot of plays in my capacity as Creative Producer, but I was arrested by the absolutely beautiful language and the extraordinary decades-long friendship between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell in Dear Elizabeth.
This play is about how complex and beautiful friendship can be. Every time I read this script it feels like I learn something new about the ways that Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell held space for each other, and held up each others’ artistry with respect and care. Their poetry sparked their correspondence and kept them connected over ti me, and their relationship was built on that mutual respect.
When this play starts, Elizabeth is 36 and Robert is 31. By the time you read this, I’ll have turned 32 (our first day on this beautiful set was my birthday). I am so grateful to have gotten to go on this journey as I look out over the next 30 years of my life as they move through the decades in this play. This piece feels so close to my heart because it shows that you have yet to meet the people who will change your life, even well into adulthood. My close friendships are some of the most sacred relationships in my life, and this script touched something in my heart that I did not know I needed to see reflected on stage. I believe that deep intimacy and love are not exclusive to romantic relationships, and that love can look like so many different things.
In collaborating with this amazing design team, I wanted to explore the magic of Sarah Ruhl’s writing. Though she pulls directly from the letters between the poets, her skillful arrangement and the intriguing stage directions makes for so many wonderful opportunities for revelation and connection. It was important to me to see a world on stage that Elizabeth and Robert have created for themselves together. Through their letters they created a place where they could be the people and artists they truly wanted to be, but one that the real world keeps breaking into. As Ruhl writes in the Preface to the play, “Their letters become almost a medieval church constructed in praise of friendship.”
I am so excited to share this play as my Remy Bumppo directing debut. I hope you leave this show thinking about the magic of language, the friends in your life you hold close, and all the people who you are yet to meet that will change you.
PRESS
“… in director Christina Casano’s quite beautiful little Remy Bumppo Theatre Company production, this one is never boring for a second.”
“Casano’s direction is careful—and respectful of the nature of poets—and the letters of two mid-century writers come alive as a story of the importance of friendship.
Ruhl’s script, dramatized and fully staged, creates a portrait of a relationship that is always rooted in mutual love of the written word and based on a connection that remains platonic even though it occasionally seems to verge on the romantic.”
“... this play is beautiful, moving, and perfectly human.
Whether you like poetry or not, these are two fascinating people who are even more fascinating together. If you choose to spend an hour and a half with them, you won’t regret it.”
“Skillfully directed by Christina Casano... It is a story that one must pay attention to, and I promise you that you will see a love story that is not like anything you have ever experienced before.”
“In this exquisite little jewel of a play, directed with creativity, care and consciousness by Christina Casano, the colorful language from the missives soars and feels almost like poetry. Ms. Casano skillfully brings the two artists to life on a stage that’s anchored at each end by the writers’ desks, and strewn with dozens of books, trunks and suitcases.
This is a lovely, often humorous, deeply sensitive and ultimately heartbreaking play that’s told through letters. It’s a production that touches the heart and soul. The biographical story soars with eloquence and compassion, empathy and humanity.”
“Remy Bumppo’s “Dear Elizabeth” is a superb example of historical fiction and a fitting celebration of two prolific artists.”
Read the full reviews below:
Chicago Tribune
Chicago On Stage
Third Coast Review
Around The Town
Chicago Theatre Review
New City Stage
