Dear Jack, Dear Louise

From STYLE Weekly:

"Gallini-Burdick is charming in his sincere role. Even when his character takes a romantic misstep, there’s a winning wholesomeness to Gallini-Burdick’s performance.

Hundley gets more of a comedic part to bite into; some of her big scenes, like her recollections of meeting Jack’s family while Jack is thousands of miles away, are pretty funny. "

Dear Jack, Dear Louise tells the joyous, heartwarming story of Ludwig’s own parents’ courtship during World War II. When two strangers meet by letter during the war, a love story begins. U.S. Army Captain Jack Ludwig, a military doctor stationed in Oregon, begins writing to Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actress and dancer in New York City, hoping to meet her someday if the war will allow. But as the war continues, it threatens to end their relationship before it even starts.

Two-time Olivier award-winning playwright Ludwig has landed six shows on Broadway and seven in London’s West End. Virginia Rep produced both Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor (2011) and The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays (2019).

Neal Gallini-Burdick and Lydia Hundley play the leads, with direction by Debra Clinton, who directed our 2019 Hanover holiday hit, The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.

Press Release

Covid Safety

To provide the highest level of safety, all patrons are required to show proof of vaccination, or proof that they have received a negative COVID test by a professional technician within 48 hours of the performance date/time.

Patrons must show your vaccination card or a photo of the card on your phone, along with a valid photo ID, when you arrive for the performance. If you are unable to be vaccinated, you may provide proof of a Rapid COVID-19 antigen test taken within 48 hours of your performance. At home tests will not be accepted.

Please see our Covid Safety FAQ for details.

In accordance with current city, state, and CDC guidance, face masks are REQUIRED at all times while you are in the building, regardless of whether or not you have been vaccinated.

At this time, no food or drink is allowed in the theatre.

Dedication: Sybel Crone

With the greatest affection and respect, we dedicate this production to the memory of our exceptional friend, Sybel Crone, who passed last September. Along with her late husband Glenn, Sybel was among those who epitomized all things Barksdale—strength (especially strength), kindness, hard work, and an overflowing sense of faith, family and fun. Glenn became a fixture at Barksdale in 1961. In 1970, he and Sybel were married. In 1972, half a century ago, Sybel and Glenn were at the center of a story that took the Barksdale family by storm. Sybel’s divorced husband used a “vacation” to take their children out of the country, without Sybel’s knowledge and in violation of court-appointed custody. For 21 months, with tremendous support from our community, Sybel and Glenn searched the world, finally finding the children, safe, living with the ex-husband and his new wife in Rhodesia (roughly modern Zimbabwe). Sybel and Glenn went there to fight for custody, and won! In 1974, four of the five children returned to Sybel and Glenn in the US. Eventually, all five returned. To say that Barksdale rejoiced doesn’t begin to cover it. Great theatres exist because they are part of great communities. A few years after Sybel and Glenn’s children returned, in response to their heroic story, Theatre IV contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to create a new play for Virginia’s schools, designed to protect students from child abduction. That highly acclaimed play, Runners, toured throughout the Commonwealth for five years, in partnership with the NCMEC, the National Network of Runaway and Youth Services, and the Virginia Dept. of Juvenile Justice, impacting countless young lives. Sybel’s strength, and her children’s resilience, contributed greatly to the very heart of what is now Virginia Rep. We will honor and miss her forever