Dear Elizabeth

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Dear Elizabeth

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 1m, 1any gender (adult)

Sarah Ruhl

A stage adaptation of the letters between poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.

Dear Elizabeth

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1m, 1any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Literature), Biography
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior

Details

Summary
Based on the compiled letters between poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop, Sarah Ruhl expresses the beauty in simple correspondence. Brought to life by reading Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, Ruhl maps the relationship of the two poets from first meeting to an abbrieviated affair and the turmoil of their lives in between.
History

Dear Elizabeth premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT November 2012 under the direction of Les Waters.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

ELIZABETH BISHOP - A woman, between the ages of forty and sixty
ROBERT LOWELL - A man, between the ages of forty and sixty
STAGE MANAGER

  • Time Period 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, 1940s / WWII
  • Setting A spare set, with two chairs.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS 

"Ms. Ruhl has excerpted [Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop's] long correspondence...with a fine ear for emotional detail and the glistening phrase." - The New York Times, Read More 

"...the language in the piece often soars, with the writing of even routine missives achieving a, yes, poetic quality... thanks to Dear Elizabeth, [Elizabeth Bishop] and Robert Lowell have come back to affecting life." - Hollywood Reporter, Read More 

"Ruhl delicately explores, through nothing more than the letters and her own theatrical imagination, the solitude of the artist, the exactitude of the writer’s craft, the balance between confession and privacy and, in the end, why poetry matters." - Variety, Read More 

Videos

  • Sarah Ruhl on Dear Elizabeth youtube thumbnail

    Sarah Ruhl on Dear Elizabeth

  • Dear Elizabeth at Berkeley Rep youtube thumbnail

    Dear Elizabeth at Berkeley Rep

  • Behind the Women's Project Theatre production of Dear Elizabeth youtube thumbnail

    Behind the Women's Project Theatre production of Dear Elizabeth

  • Dear Elizabeth at Yale Repertory Theatre youtube thumbnail

    Dear Elizabeth at Yale Repertory Theatre

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

    Please submit a license request to determine availability.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late ...

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