Remy Bumppo’s “Dear Elizabeth,” with Christopher Sheard and Leah Karpel/Photo: Nomee Photography
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“I seem to spend my life missing you,” wrote poet Robert Lowell to his peer and confidant, poet Elizabeth Bishop, during a thirty-year friendship, mostly through correspondence. “Every so often,” wrote Lowell, “I have a vague acute feeling of missing… someone, and it’s you… letters are no substitute.” He’s right, letters are no substitute, so it’s a good thing there’s Remy Bumppo’s production of “Dear Elizabeth,” a play by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Christina Casano, which brings the prose and poetry of two giants of American literature to life at Theater Wit through November 17.
Seated at desks on opposite sides of the stage, Robert (Christopher Sheard) and Elizabeth (Leah Karpel) spend copious amounts of time and ink sharing with each other their latest work, including creative quagmires and personal doubts. At times their passionate friendship carries them across the stage—an amorphous set by scenic designer Catalina Niño that changes from a home library to the ocean’s edge to a moonlit street depending on where they stand. Immense projections designed by John Boesche wrap around the sides, top and bottom of the stage and fill one’s vision completely, and they induce rollercoaster-like vertigo as the viewer floats around stars and planets in outer space, or peers down the edge of a cascading waterfall.
Remy Bumppo’s “Dear Elizabeth,” with Christopher Sheard and Leah Karpel/Photo: Nomee Photography
The play is at its best when the lifelong friends delve into each other’s work and personal lives. Elizabeth lived with a female partner—although never identifying as a “lesbian poet,” or even a “female poet”—yet she has an inexplicable attraction to Robert. Robert pines for Elizabeth, although he knows that a romantic relationship is impossible. Their affection for each other reaches several peaks as they critique each other’s work, their criticisms carrying the weight of unrequited love and balanced by mutual respect. Through illness, tragedy and loneliness, these star-crossed companions share a friendship as lively and beautiful as their poetry.
The worst part is the inside jokes. Prepare yourself for quips about Kierkegaard, puns about Purcell, nods to Nin, references to Roethke, and so forth. It’s like an episode of “Frasier” without the supporting cast to balance the pretentiousness. The digital program says “you won’t need any extra information in order to enjoy our production” but I disagree, and I recommend you arrive fifteen to twenty minutes early to peruse the approximately one-thousand-word study guide, and even longer biographies of the main subjects, to get the most out of the esoteric wisecracks and timeline-leaping narrative.
The success of its parts allows the play to succeed as a whole. Sheard and Karpel are acute in their portrayals of two towering intellectual talents who struggle with isolation from intimacy. The light projections and abstract set immerse you in their world, and tender intimacy direction by Micah Figueroa gives the few moments Robert and Elizabeth meet in person a sense of robust dramatic tension. Remy Bumppo’s “Dear Elizabeth” is a superb example of historical fiction and a fitting celebration of two prolific artists.
“Dear Elizabeth” is presented by Remy Bumppo and runs through November 17 at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont. Showtimes are Thursday-Saturday at 7:30pm; Sunday at 2:30pm. Additional matinees are on Saturday, October 26 at 2:30pm; Saturday, November 2 at 2:30pm; Thursday, November 7 at 2:30pm; and Saturday, November 16 at 2:30pm. Tickets are $36-$55 ($15 students) available at remybumppo.org.
