Janice MacDonald and Robert Roy will share the stage in A.R. Gurney's play
Robert Roy hasn’t been in a Little Theatre production for about 20 years, but when Janice MacDonald agreed to do “Love Letters” he was her first, and only, choice.
Deb Sadler, who is directing/overseeing the fundraising productions, said she also suggested Roy, who just turned 80 and became an honorary member of Little Theatre of Fall River.
Roy, considered “Little Theatre royalty” in the local theater scene, said he was surprised when he got the request, but more than happy to return to the Firebarn, where he once took the stage as Felix in “The Odd Couple,” with MacDonald as director.
A native of Fall River and Rhode Island transplant, Roy acted in 39 shows for Little Theatre and a few other companies’ productions over the years starting with his first LTFR role in 1969 in “Generation,” when he stepped in as “the obstetrician” when someone dropped out. “It was a comedic role, and for some reason, I ended up in a lot of comedy roles,” he said.
His favorite role over the years, Felix, in “The Odd Couple,” was due in part to the cast that director MacDonald assembled for the show.
Roy and MacDonald also shared the stage in leading roles in many shows including “Hello Dolly,” “Chapter Two,” and “California Suite.” She played his love interest in “Guys and Dolls,” and his wife in “Prisoner of Second Avenue.”
Roy’s numerous roles in Little Theatre productions also included “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Music Man,” “Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “Harvey,” and “The Royal Family.”
The last major show he appeared in was “The Sunshine Boys,” in 1996, he said.
Both Roy and MacDonald played many roles over the years at Little Theatre, many of which were off stage, with MacDonald acting as director and choreographer and Roy working on sets and serving as president of the board for a stint.
In A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters,” Roy and MacDonald will return to the stage reading letters and excerpts of letters the two characters (Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner) penned to each other over a span of 50 years starting when they met each other in second grade.
Each one of the characters moved on with their lives: he married and became a senator, and she went through a few husbands. “It’s a very interesting concept,” said Roy, who hadn’t seen the show when he started reading the script. “It’s funny and touching – it’s an excellent show."
The popular two-person play has been performed on Broadway as well as in national and regional productions, often uniting real-life couples and stage-and-screen couples such as Robert Wagner and his wife, Jill St. John; Wagner and his "Hart to Hart" "wife" Stephanie Powers; and Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, the ill-fated couple in the film "Love Story.
Memorabilia from productions with Roy and MacDonald will be on display at the Firebarn in conjunction with the performances. A meet-and-greet post show reception is also planned, said Sadler.
A fundraiser for Little Theatre, “Love Letters” will run Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m. at the Firebarn, 340 Prospect St. To purchase tickets, visit littletheatre.net or call 508-675-1852.
Email Linda Murphy at lmurphy@heraldnews.com.