Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Dear Elizabeth”—two poets bonded through letters
“More than kisses,” wrote the great English poet, John Donne, “letters mingle souls.” And if ever two souls were mingled, it would be those of acclaimed American 20th century poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell who exchanged letters for three decades. While the two never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they had a vibrant long-distance friendship conducted largely via snail mail that was every bit as entangled as a marriage. From 1947 until Lowell’s death in 1977, they exchanged over 400 letters across oceans and continents, critically reflecting on each other’s poems, literature, and tracking the ups and downs of their careers—they both won Pulitzers—and relationships— his three marriages and her lesbian partnerships. Dear Elizabeth at Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a play based entirely on these exquisite letters and it had its West Coast premiere at the Rhoda Theatre last Wednesday.
Dear Elizabeth is the latest collaboration between Brooklyn-based playwright Sarah Ruhl and artistic director Les Waters, the award-winning creators of Eurydice, Three Sisters, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play). Mary Beth Fisher is Elizabeth Bishop and Tom Nelis is Robert Lowell. Both actors have their debut at Berkley Rep. Fisher also played Elizabeth Bishop when the play had its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre last December. This lovely and well-crafted production consists entirely of the two talented actors reading letters aloud, with no dialogue in-between. The letters themselves incisive snapshots of the lives they led, written in a conversational style which makes them easy to listen to. It would not be surprising to learn they are filled with tidbits that never made their way into their poems. Annie Smart’s set is little more than a shared literary study which changes slightly as they each change bases over the years. It all works! Ruhl has done such masterful job of selecting letters and passages, that their sharp intellects and quixotic artistic personalities take root and blossom, albeit quietly, as a conversation on stage. Dear Elizabeth runs through July 7, 2013.
Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters return to Berkeley Rep with Dear Elizabeth, starring Mary Beth Fisher (left) and Tom Nelis as esteemed poets and lifelong friends Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com
Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell met each other in New York in 1947, through the poet and critic Randall Jarrell. Lowell had just published his second book of poems, Lord Weary’s Castle, and Bishop her first, North & South. Bishop later wrote that she “loved him at first sight.” Lord Weary’s Castle won the Pulitzer Prize, and Lowell was named Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. He frequently discussed his work with other poets, but Bishop did not. Their meeting was the first time she had discussed the nuts and bolts of her work with another poet and it was inspiring. Something clicked in both of them; she wrote him in 1947 and he replied from Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York and she wrote back. They became close and then closer still, at first admiring and critiquing each other’s work and then sharing more and more news of their personal lives.
While they both proposed to meet face to face, they rarely did, and instead conducted their treasured relationship from the safety of their writing desks where they seemed to take solace in just thinking of each other. Of course, there were intrusions—Lowell’s various girlfriends, his three wives and children, his battles with booze and his episodes of manic depression which, more than once, led to his institutionalization. All his “news” was packed into letters which at times seemed to floor and worry Bishop who doted on him but always maintained a brutally honesty about his work. Bishop, a lesbian, was more of a rolling stone, and couldn’t seem to stay long in one place until she met Brazilian aristocrat Lotta de Macedo Soares in Brazil and settled into a 12 year relationship that ended with Lotta’s suicide.
Over the years, missing each other became a central complaint, especially for the more volatile Lowell who wrote, “We seem attached to each other by some stiff piece of wire, so that each time one moves, the other moves in another direction.”
Fisher and Nelis, who spend a great deal of the play seated side by side at a large desk, have a chemistry that works, conveying both warmth and respect. Fisher, who looks a bit school-marmish, is particularly adept at capturing the shyness, reserve and loneliness that plagued Bishop. After Lotta’s suicide, there were episodes of alcohol abuse so severe that Bishop would fall and injure herself. Fisher also conveys Bishop’s wry sense of humor. Nelis captures the grandiose and dark aspects of Lowell, who spirals in and out of functionality but uses all his experiences as literary compost…he turns the most elegant lines! You’ll hear a few of these but the play mainly sticks to excerpts of their letters. The correspondence between Bishop and Lowell on which the play is based, Words in Air, was published in 2008.
Annie Smart’s sets combine with Russell Champa’s lush lighting to create magical moments of visual poetry.
The biggest take-away is a renewed appreciation for these two gifted poets and the complexity and beauty of their bond. Did they flirt with the idea of taking it further, of calling it “love”? In 1957, after one of their few visits crashed and burned, he penned that asking her to marry him was the biggest might have been of his life. Late in his life, Lowell wrote “I seem to spend my life missing you.” Thankfully, for our sake, Bishop ignored him. How many great letters have you written your spouse once you settled into a relationship?
Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters return to Berkeley Rep with Dear Elizabeth, starring Mary Beth Fisher (left) and Tom Nelis as esteemed poets and lifelong friends Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com
Run-time is 1 hour and 45 minutes with one 15 minute intermission
Creative Team: Written by Sarah Ruhl. Directed by Les Waters
Designed by Annie Smart (sets), Maria Hooper (costumes), Russell Champa (lighting), Bray Poor (sound), and Hannah Wasileski (projections)
Starring: Mary Beth Fisher and Tom Nelis
Special Events:
Tastings: Sunday 7/7 @ 6:00 PM (Semifreddi’s)
Post-show discussions: Thursday 6/13, Tuesday 6/18, and Friday 6/28 @ 8:00 PM
Docents: talks on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 7:00 PM; discussions after all matinees
Details: Dear Elizabeth runs through July 7, 2013 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley. Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison Street, Berkeley (near the intersection of Addison and Shattuck Avenue), Berkeley, CA 94704. Performances: Tuesday-Sunday, with additional weekend matinee performances. Tickets: $29 -$77. Call box office at 510-647-2949 or purchase online at www.berkeleyrep.org.
Parking: paid parking is readily available at over 5 parking garages as close as one block from the theatre. The Allston Way Garage, 2061 Allston Way, between Milvia and Shattuck, offers $3 parking Tuesday–Friday after 6 PM or all day on Saturday or Sunday when your garage-issued parking ticket is validated in the theatre lobby.
ARThound 