‘Love Letters’ slated for two weekends at Masquers Theater
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years AGO
Andy (Bob Jasman) reads a letter from the woman he never could forget. “Love Letters” opens tomorrow.
COURTESY PHOTO/MASQUERS THEATER
Andy (Bob Jasman), left, and Melissa (Victoria Drake) never quite manage to make it work in the Masquers production of “Love Letters” opening Friday.
Melissa (Victoria Drake) contemplates her life through the medium of letters to and from an old friend.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | April 18, 2024 1:30 AM
SOAP LAKE — The story of a man and woman who never quite know what they want from each other comes to the Masquers stage for two weekends. “Love Letters” runs for four performances.
Director Cynthia Byer wrote that it’s not a complicated script, or a play with a lot of complicated action — just two characters seated across from each other on stage. But there’s plenty going on regardless.
“This is basically a stage reading between two people who care about each other and how they grow throughout their lives. The story is told in a very unique way but still engages audiences to enter their world,” Beyer wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald.
Melissa (Victoria Drake in the Masquers production) and Andy (Bob Jasman) meet in the second grade. They’re friends through high school and college — and sometimes they want to be more than friends, but never at the same time. Melissa is a wanderer, maybe a little crazy (maybe more than a little); Andy stays home and pursues a career.
They go their separate ways, make new friends, have new experiences, get married to other people and keep writing to each other, on and off.
Byer wrote that fellow Masquers veteran Cheri Barbre originally suggested “Love Letters,” and was scheduled to direct but had to drop out due to illness.
“Cheri had wanted to do this play for some time,” Byer wrote.
A minimalist play doesn’t really require a lot of work from the director, she wrote.
“I made a small set for the readers and mainly advised on how to do the reading,” Byer wrote.
“Love Letters” is the next to last play of the 2023-24 Masquers season. The finale is “The Odd Couple,” scheduled to open June 7.
'Love Letters' showtimes
7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27
2 p.m. April 21 and 28
Masquers Theater
322 E. Main St., Soap Lake
509-246-2611
www.masquers.com
Tickets:
$16 adults
$12 students/seniors
Andy (Bob Jasman), left, and Melissa (Victoria Drake) never quite manage to make it work in the Masquers production of “Love Letters” opening Friday.
Melissa (Victoria Drake) contemplates her life through the medium of letters to and from an old friend.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
No injuries reported in aircraft emergency landing
WILSON CREEK — No injuries were reported in the emergency landing of an aircraft along Road P.5 Northeast about 11 miles south of Wilson Creek Friday morning.
Road closure starts Monday near Othello
OTHELLO — Drivers should prepare for delays on State Route 17 at the intersection with West Cunningham Road in Othello as construction of a new roundabout gets to the cutting-pavement and construction stage.
Quincy man sentenced in controlled substance homicide
EPHRATA — A Quincy man was sentenced to two years in prison in connection after he pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter Tuesday. Abraham Florez Velazquez pleaded guilty and was sentenced in connection with the December 2024 death of Ariel Armas Flores, 27, Quincy. “An autopsy concluded Armas died from an overdose of fentanyl that investigators say was furnished by Florez,” said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, in a media release. In a separate interview, Foreman said that Florez was charged with a controlled substance homicide. Those are cases where the victim dies from using controlled substances furnished by the defendant.